survey on knowledge of Shiraz District Health Volunteers over healthy life style in aging

ABSTRACT

The education promotion of elderly health is an important preference of health that should be planned for it. Several problems of elderly is supposed to be due to life style so the community education of healthy life style should be considered. The appropriate approch to achieve those objectives is to use of female health volunteers for transformation of this education to families. To determine the level of knowledge of health volunteers about healthy life style for prevention of problems in elderly period, in Shiraz. In a cross-sectional study, 320 health volunteers were selected by randomized method. The sample size was calculated with the results. A pilot study on one hundred with use of a questionaire contain of 5 demographic questions and 32 questions about life style including nutrition, prevention of disease, oral health and health advices. They filled the questionaries and the data were entered in EPI 2002 software and were analyzed by descriptive tests. The mean age all of 320 health were 33.7 years, with standard deviation of 8.6 years. The knowledge level of them in health advices were 15% weak, 66.9% medium and 18.2% well. In oral health 21.6% well, 61.3% medium and 7.2% well. In provention of disease 37% weak, 62.2% medium and 9% well, in nutrition 24.6% weak, 69.3% medium and 5.9% well. Overall the level of knowledge of health volunteers about life style were 20.9% weak, 65.5% medium and 13.8% well. In the aim achieving to their approaches program of health, volunteers was started by Ministry of Health in 1990. This program was performed by the aim of health promotion in these group with participation of themselves. Till now they have trained in the recognition of health problems and healthy approach to them. So the volunteers transfer their knowledge to community specially to under their covrage. At present the health problems are not only due to infection disease but also problems and deaths are now consider regarding to unhealthy life styles, so elder people as an important population subgroup should receive healthy life style education and so to their families. This study reveals that volunteers knowledge level about health life style, unsatisfactional [85.4% of them were about weak to moderate level]. The worst result in their knowledge is about nutritional information [only 5.9% were in well level], and the best result were over health advices regarding to matters of exercise appropriate way of sleeping, sifting and prevention of osteoprosis [18.2% were in well level]. This by attention to importance of matter of elderly age, education of health volunteers and employees and by turn the different subgroup of community should be programmed