The relationship between attitudes toward aging and health‐promoting behaviours in older adults

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Background: Identifying the factors that are associated with health‐promoting behaviours in older adults is necessary to increase their willingness and motivation to participate in health‐promotion activities. Understanding context‐specific attitudes in relation to their influence on health‐promoting behaviours is crucial in designing efficient interventions that foster health‐promoting behaviours among older adults.Aim: This study aimed to examine the relationships between attitudes towards aging and health‐promoting behaviours in older adults in Turkey.Methods: The study used a descriptive‐correlational design. A convenience sample of 448 community‐dwelling older adults who were 65 years and older and cognitively intact were selected from 6 family health centres in the city of Denizli in Turkey. The data were collected between March and June of 2014 using the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire and the Health‐Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the predictors of health‐promoting behaviours.Findings: Attitudes toward aging, the psychosocial loss subscale, and education were statistically significant predictors of health‐promoting behaviours. Attitudes toward aging were the strongest predictor of health‐promoting behaviours in older adults.Conclusion: Attitude towards aging is a factor that affects health‐promoting behaviours, and it should be considered during interventions for improving health promoting behaviours.

This publication has 37 references indexed in Scilit: