Impediment in Activity of Daily Living and Social Support for Rural Elderly Farmers Undergoing Nerve Block due to Low Back Pain

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study is to investigate the low back pain, social support, impediment in daily living activities and to identify factors affecting impediment in elderly farmer' daily living activities. METHODS: The participants were 128 elderly farmers who had received nerve block. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire from February to March, 2018. They were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, pearson's correlation coefficient, and linear multiple regression. RESULTS: The score of low back pain was 6.27±1.69 (10 points), that of social support 2.92±0.76 (1~5 points), and that of impediment in activity of daily living 2.01±0.82 (0~5 points). Factors affecting impediment in activity of daily living were found to include age (p=.017), daily hours of farm work (p<.001), fear for the nerve block (p<.001), low back pain (p<.001), and social support (p<.001); the explanatory power of these variables was 58.8%. CONCLUSION: This study has found the controllable factors affecting impediment in activity of daily living among the rural elderly engaging in farm work include low back pain, social support, and daily farming hours. Therefore, to reduce impediment in activity of daily living among them, it is necessary to develop nursing interventions that can improve impediment in activity of daily living through reduction of daily farming hours using local resources. It is also desirable to improve their health status by reducing low back pain, and develop and apply social supports with health education programs that fit the local resources and the needs of the rural elderly.