Abstract

BackgroundChina has the world’s largest aging population and the number of empty-nest older adults is on the rise. In comparison to the aging population in general, empty-nest older adults have a lower level of subjective well-being and poorer mental health status due to a lack of emotional support from their children. The aim of this study is to conduct an empirical study to evaluate the efficacy of the ‘Path-oriented Psychological Self-help Intervention’ (P-oPSI) led by nurses on the mental health of empty-nest older adults in the community, to provide a scientific foundation for improving their quality of life.MethodsA Quasi-Experimental controlled intervention study was conducted from 2015 to 2017.A total of 76 empty-nest older adults from 2 districts were recruited using a convenience sampling and assigned to 2 groups based on their residential communities in the city of Chifeng in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. The wait list control group participated in a mental health lecture to gain knowledge and learn techniques of mental health promotion. The intervention group additionally received 1 month of training in a nurse-led ‘P-oPSI’ for a month. Both groups were followed-up for 3 months. Mental health status, coping styles, and psychological self-help ability of the participating empty nest older adults were assessed at the baseline, 1 month, and 3-months follow up, respectively. Two-way analysis of variance and a simple effect test were used to analyse the differences of the two groups.ResultsThe P-oPSI yielded a greater benefit for the mental health status, coping styles, and psychological self-help ability of the participants in the intervention group. Combined with a simple effect test, the scores of the mental health status, positive coping style, and psychological self-help ability of those in the intervention group significantly increased at 1 month after the baseline (F mental health status = 7.59, F positive coping style = 7.24, F psychological self-help ability = 7.07); and the sustainable effect of this program lasted for 3 months after the intervention (F mental health status = 13.24, F positive coping style = 10.42, F psychological self-help ability = 10.45), which reached statistical significance (P < 0.01).ConclusionsThe P-oPSI program significantly improved the level of mental health of empty-nest older adults in China. This intervention provides a new approach of self-management to improve mental health of older adults in community settings.Trial registrationchictr.org.cn: ChiCTR1900025552. Retrospectively registered 1 September 2019.

Highlights

  • China has the world’s largest aging population and the number of empty-nest older adults is on the rise

  • We hypothesized that empty-nest older adults who participated in the Path-oriented Psychological Self-help Intervention’ (P-oPSI) would have a better performance on mental health status, positive coping style and psychological self-help ability than the wait list control group

  • The findings of this study indicated that the psychological self-help ability score of the empty-nest older adults in the intervention group increased steadily over the 3-month follow-up (Cohen’s d = 0.79), similar to findings which indicate that self-help intervention will significantly affect the planning and implementing of healthrelated behaviors [43, 44]

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Summary

Introduction

China has the world’s largest aging population and the number of empty-nest older adults is on the rise. A large body of literature describes the period in the family lifecycle when children leave the parental home, often referred to as the empty nest phase [1,2,3]. These older people either live alone (empty-nest singles) or with a spouse (empty-nest couples) [4]. As a result of the prolongation of average life expectancy, the declining fertility rate, population migration, and the trend of young people to live independently after marriage, the phenomenon of empty nest has become a rapidly rising trend among the older adults in the past decade in China. Empty nest is becoming a main family structure in China

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