No abstract

Objectivewidowhood is one of the inevitable challenges of aging, which may affect the quality of life. If the widow is in a good relationship with relatives and friends, the possibility of exposition to the damage caused by widowhood is decreased. Hence, the present study has been conducted to determine the relationship between quality of relationships and quality of life of elderly widows in northeastern Iran.Materials & Methodsthe descriptive-analytical study in kind of cross-sectional design was done on 1456 widows in northeastern ran in 2021. The sampling in this study was done using proportional stratified random sampling. The data collection instrument included three questionnaires of demographic information, Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI), and Elderly Quality of Life (QoL) Questionnaire (LIPAD). Data analysis was done using SPSS-25, and Amos-21.Results75.9% of elderly widows were suffering from types of chronic diseases. 82.7% of widows were illiterate. The results of this study showed that the quality of relationships can have a significant effect on the quality of life of elderly widows (effect size≥0.30). Conclusionas it is proved that social support is an underlying indicator in health-related quality of life, the negative effects of widowhood on the quality of life can be reduced by making supporting family and social relationships.

Introduction: In recent years, many studies have reported on the relationship between health literacy and health outcomes such as health status, chronic disease and hospitalization. Considering the increasing number of elderly people, studies need to be done on how to providing services to the elderly, also on recognizing the needs and health indicators of this age group. Therefore, the present study addresses the health literacy index of the elderly in the elderly population of northeastern Iran. Method: This is a cross-sectional descriptive-analytic study carried out in 2019. About 190 elderly living in the northeastern Iran were selected by multi-stage (cluster and stratified) sampling method. Data were collected using a two-part questionnaire (demographic information-adult health literacy questionnaire) and analyzed by SPSS-20 software. Results: Most of the elderly studied had an inadequate level of health literacy (40.5%). 23.3% of the elderly had a borderline health literacy level. Only 36.3% of the elderly had adequate health literacy. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the elderly studied are lacking adequate health literacy, which is a serious challenge for health care providers and all providers of health services due to the growing number of elderly population in the country.