Effects of a Community-Based Health Promotion Project for Elderly People

지역사회 중심 노인 건강증진 사업의 효과

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of a community-based health promotion program for elders. Method: The research design was a nonequivalent control group experimental design. The participants were 415 elders who were above 65 years of age (mean age: 80.7, experimental group: 126, control group: 289). For 4 months, the health promotion project which consisted of health education and activity related to smoking, drinking, nutrition and exercise was given to the experimental group. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ${\chi}^2$-test, and t-test with the SAS V8e program. Result: After the intervention, the experimental group showed a higher level of health promotion behavior compared to the control group in health education experience, exercise, smoking, and drinking. There were no differences between the experimental and control groups for nutrition, or high risk drinking and smoking. Conclusion: The results of this study show that the health promoting program for elders provides useful information in developing effective community-based programs and can be recommended as effective interventions to improve the health promoting behavior of elders.