The Role of Health Promoting Lifestyle and Religious Orientation in Predicting Quality of Life and Death Anxiety in Elders

Abstract

Considering the increase in the elderly population and the importance of quality of life and death anxiety among them, it seems necessary to investigate the influential variables in this field. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the role of health-promoting lifestyle and religious orientation to predict the quality of life and death anxiety in the elderly. Samples included all elders in Ardebil in 2018 among whom 100 people were selected through the availability sampling process. The following questionnaires were used to collect the required data: health-promoting lifestyle by Walker, religious orientation by Alport, life quality from world health organization and death anxiety by Templer. Data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis in SPSS (version 24). Results from the present study reported that the health promotion lifestyle component had a positive relationship with life quality but a negative relation with death anxiety. Personal religious orientation showed positive and negative relations to life quality and death anxiety, respectively. Furthermore, results from stepwise regression showed that %42 of elders’ life quality variance could be predicted by personal religious orientation, self-improvement and taking the responsibility of health. Personal religious orientation, health responsibility, and physical activity also were known as meaningful predictors to death anxiety among the elderly. To improve life quality and reduce death anxiety among elders, it seems helpful to experts to focus on enhancing health promotion lifestyle and personal religious orientation.

Keywords

• health promotion life style
• religion orientation
• life quality
• death anxiety
• elderly