The Effect of Nursing Intervention Based on the Salutogenic Model on Sense of Coherence, Healthy Aging, and Quality of Life

The world population is rapidly aging, and Turkey is one of the countries where aging is occurring quickly. When the investigators examine the proportion of the elderly population to the total population over the years and decades, the invesitigators observe that the percentage was 3.9% in 1935, 3.4% in 1955, 4.1% in 1975, 5.7% in 2000, 7.2% in 2010, 7.7% in 2013, and 8.5% in 2017. Finally, in 2022, this proportion reached 9.9%. According to population projections, the proportion of the elderly population is expected to be 12.9% in 2030, 16.3% in 2040, 22.6% in 2060, and 25.6% in 2080 (TUIK, 2022). The ability of elderly individuals to live independently is influenced by their social and economic conditions, physical health, as well as sociodemographic characteristics such as age and gender. The interaction of elderly individuals with society influences their healthy living behaviors. Furthermore, their interaction with personal and societal resources affects their sense of wholeness and quality of life. To achieve a good quality of life, elderly individuals need to use both internal and external resources, and education should support this (Tan et al., 2014). For health services to be effective, they must be sensitive to the differences, experiences, socioeconomic status, and cultural background of individuals. Therefore, health professionals, including nurses, should prioritize providing appropriate health services for elderly individuals during care (Temel et al., 2009). The roles of public health nurses in elderly health include providing education to elderly individuals and caregivers, offering counseling, protecting the health of elderly individuals, conducting physical assessments, teaching self-care and personal hygiene, making home visits when necessary, assessing and taking precautions regarding situations that could cause accidents, evaluating acute health problems and chronic diseases, educating about the management of chronic diseases, and implementing interventions based on nursing diagnoses (Akdemir et al., 2009). The most important principle in ensuring elderly individuals maintain their health and age healthily is to support them in acquiring basic living skills and independence as much as possible. These basic skills, also known as daily living activities, are crucial for preserving the quality of life by enabling elderly individuals to live independently. A review of the literature reveals that there is no evidence of educational or intervention programs aimed at supporting healthy aging for individuals aged 65 and over in Turkey, or programs that focus on holistic health. Therefore, this randomized controlled study will investigate how an intervention and education program based on the salutogenic model affects elderly individuals' self-efficacy, healthy living behaviors, and coping skills with diseases and stressors. As a result, the applied intervention program will positively impact the quality of life, sense of wholeness, and healthy aging processes of elderly individuals by examining their responses to stressors and revealing the internal and external resources they can utilize.