Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviors of Older Adults Regarding the Use of Traditional Complementary Treatment for Pain

Abstract

Objective: This descriptive study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of older adults experiencing pain for any reason regarding traditional complementary treatment. Methods: The study was collected simultaneously from a provincial center and districts in Türkiye between January 10 and March 15, 2024 by the Aging Studies Implementation and Research Center of a state university. 1286 older adults voluntarily participated in the study. Data were collected with a 30-question questionnaire prepared by the researchers and data were computer analysed. Results: 75.27% of the older adults who participated in the study stated that they used traditional complementary treatment to relieve their pain, 81.50% stated that the method they used relieved their pain, and 36.37% stated that they used traditional complementary treatment on recommendation. When the use of traditional complementary treatment for pain in older adults was analyzed in terms of sociodemographic variables, a statistically significant difference was found in the group who used and did not use traditional complementary treatment in terms of all sociodemographic variables except for the family type variable (p=0.07) (p≤0.05). When the pain characteristics were compared in the group using and not using traditional complementary treatment in older adults, there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, it was determined that older adults experiencing pain primarily consulted modern medicine and had a positive attitude towards traditional complementary treatment.

Keywords

• pain
• complementary therapies
• aged
• behavior
• attitude

Yaşlı Yetişkinlerin Ağrı Nedeniyle Geleneksel Tamamlayıcı Tedavi Kullanımına İlişkin Bilgi, Tutum ve Davranışlarının Değerlendirilmesi

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma herhangi bir nedenle ağrı yaşayan yaşlı yetişkinlerin geleneksel tamamlayıcı tedavilere ilişkin bilgi, tutum ve davranışlarını değerlendirmek amacıyla tanımlayıcı olarak yapıldı. Yöntem: Araştırma 10 Ocak – 15 Mart 2024 tarihleri arasında bir devlet üniversitesinin Yaşlılık Çalışmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi tarafından, Türkiye’de bir il merkezi ve ilçelerinden eş zamanlı olarak toplandı. Araştırmaya 1286 yaşlı yetişkin gönüllü olarak katıldı. Veriler araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan 30 soruluk anket formu ile toplandı ve bilgisayar ortamında değerlendirildi. Bulgular: Araştırmaya katılan yaşlı yetişkinlerin %75,27’si yaşadıkları ağrıyı gidermek için geleneksel tamamlayıcı tedavileri kullandığını, %81.50’si kullandıkları yöntemin ağrılarını geçirdiğini ve %36,37’si ise tavsiye üzerine geleneksel tamamlayıcı tedavileri kullandığını belirttiler. Yaşlı yetişkinlerin ağrı nedeni ile geleneksel tamamlayıcı tedavi uygulamalarını kullanımı sosyo-demografik değişkenler açısından incelendiğinde, geleneksel tedavileri kullanan ve kullanmayan grupta, aile tipi değişkeni (p=0,07) hariç diğer tüm sosyo-demografik değişkenler açısından istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark saptandı (p≤0.05). Yaşlı yetişkinlerde, geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tedavileri kullanan ve kullanmayan grupta ağrı özellikleri karşılaştırıldığında ise iki grup arasında anlamlı bir farklılığın olmadığı görüldü (p>0.05). Sonuç: Sonuç olarak, ağrı yaşayan yaşlı yetişkinlerin öncelikle modern tıbba başvurdukları ve geleneksel ve tamamlayıcı tedavilere karşı olumlu bir tutum içinde oldukları belirlendi.

Keywords

• ağrı
• tamamlayıcı tedavi
• yaşlı yetişkin
• davranış
• tutum

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