Analysis of factors affecting the social health of the elderly in rural areas Case study: Zanjan Township

The average life expectancy in Iran has increased from 35 years in 1320 to 75 years in 1397 (Ministry of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, 1397) and the average population growth in Iran has decreased from 3.5% in 1365 to less than 1% per year. 1400 has decreased (National Statistics Center, 1400). Also, the population aging index in the rural areas of our country has reached 8.8% in 1401 and 9.1% in the city of Zanjan. The importance of examining the issues of the elderly is that these people, due to events such as reduced physical abilities, rejection, feelings of loneliness, and pressures Due to living in today's societies, which causes emotional and psychological disorders, they are exposed to increasing risks. In this regard, in the present research, the level of social health of the rural elderly will be examined and then the factors affecting its improvement will be evaluated.
Research methodology
The purpose of this research is to measure social health and some social factors affecting it. The theoretical framework of this research is based on the theories of Keyes, Baudrillard, Laycock, Berkman, Rose and Wu. The method of conducting this research is quantitative and survey type. Its statistical population includes villages with more than 5% of elderly population in Zanjan city, the number of villages with 5% or more elderly population according to the statistics of 1400 is equal to 39 villages, which according to the large number of villages based on the probability sampling method (lottery method) Keshi) 14 villages were selected as a sample, the number of elderly people in these villages is equal to 2147 elderly people. The size of the studied sample based on Cochran's formula is 384 people as stratified sampling proportional to the volume. Kibbs questionnaire was used to evaluate social health. This questionnaire has 33 items and has 5 sub-scales that include five components: social integration, the purpose of which is to assess the quality of the person's relationships in society with 5 questions (social acceptance), expressing the individual's understanding of the characteristics and traits of the people in society as a whole with 5 questions, social flourishing (expressing evaluation) The individual is about the direction of society and its potentials with 8 questions, social participation (indicating the individual's evaluation of his social value with 5 questions) and social adaptation (expressing the individual's understanding of the quality, organization and working of the social world with 10 questions) And it was made by Mr. Keyes in the MacArthur Science Foundation of the United States of America in 2004.
research findings
Descriptive findings related to the personal characteristics of the respondents show that the average age of the respondents is 65.41 years, the evaluation of the number of respondents shows that most of the respondents live in families of 1 to 3 people (65%). In terms of education status, the highest amount of education is related to the illiterate group with 39.14% and the lowest is for people with higher than diploma education with 1.41%. In terms of occupation, 34.27 percent of unemployed has the highest frequency and the occupational group of employee has the lowest frequency with 1.94 percent. The rank average of the health index is equal to 112.47, the standard deviation is equal to 10.24, the minimum score is equal to 75, the maximum score is equal to 150 and the average in the scale unit is also equal to 3.31. Variance and covariance show the paths of the research model. All regression weights are greater than zero and at 90% confidence level and more. This indicates the existence of a significant relationship between the observed variables. Accordingly, in the economic factors, indicators of land ownership, retirement income, funds sent from the city and vehicle, in the individual factors, the indicators of age, the number of diseases, the amount of internet use, and marital status, and among the social factors, leisure time and social trust. And the sense of security affects the social health of the studied elderly.
Final conclusion
This article has investigated the social health status of the elderly in rural areas by using a questionnaire tool and also investigated the factors affecting social health in the study area. The findings of the present research show that the social health status of the elderly in the study area is relatively favorable, meanwhile, the status of elderly men is more favorable than that of elderly women. Also, the results showed that emotional and financial support from children in the form of remittances has a significant impact on the social health of the elderly. The communication of the elderly with their grandchildren through virtual networks and the use of the Internet can effectively reduce the depression of the rural elderly and improve their social health. Also, the results show that economic assets are effective as a determining factor for improving the social health of the elderly, so that with the increase in the income of the elderly and also the access to land ownership, the level of social health of these strata increases.