Improving the Quality of Life of Elderly Individuals Living in Nursing Homes

It is a test used to evaluate an individual's aerobic capacity. Individuals are asked to walk as much as possible for 6 minutes in a corridor that is at least 30 meters long and has a flat and hard surface. The distance traveled in 6 minutes is recorded. While the average walking distance is 570 meters for men aged 50-70 and 540 meters for women; It is stated as 530 meters for men aged 70-80 and 470 meters for women. Test results lower than these values may be associated with a decrease in aerobic capacity (American Thoracic Society 2002).

People's postures were evaluated with the New York Posture Assessment Test on thirteen (13) parts of the body from the back (head-A, shoulder levels-B, vertebral column-C, hip levels-D, mediolateral position of the feet-E, foot arches-F) and side ( head-G, rib cage-H, shoulders-I, upper back-J, trunk-K, abdomen-L, lower back-waist-M) will be observed and scored on the form. Accordingly, five (5) points will be given if the posture of the examined area is good, three (3) points will be given if it is moderately damaged, and one (1) point will be given if it is seriously damaged. The total score obtained as a result of the test is a maximum of 65 and a minimum of 13. Accordingly, if the score is 45, it will be classified as 'very good', if it is between 40-44, it will be classified as 'good', if it is 30-39, it will be classified as 'medium', if it is 20-29, it will be classified as poor and if it is 19, it will be classified as 'bad'.

The Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale, developed by Walker et al. (1987), was revised in 1996 and named Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors Scale II. The alpha value of the scale, which has a total of 52 items and 6 sub-factors (health responsibility, physical activity, nutrition, spiritual development, interpersonal relations, stress management), was determined as 0.94. A high total score indicates that there are more healthy lifestyle behaviors (Bahar et al., 2008).

Sleep quality will be evaluated with the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), developed by Buysse et al. (1989) and adapted into Turkish by Ağargün et al. (1996). PSQI is a 19-item self-report scale that evaluates sleep quality and disturbance over the past month. It consists of 24 questions. 19 questions are self-report questions, 5 questions are questions to be answered by the spouse or roommate. The 18 scored questions of the scale consist of 7 components: Subjective Sleep Quality, Sleep Latency, Sleep Duration, Habitual Sleep Efficiency, Sleep Disturbance, Sleeping Medication Use, and Daytime Dysfunction. Each component is evaluated on a scale of 0-3 points. The total score of the 7 components gives the total score of the scale. Total score varies between 0-21. A total score greater than 5 indicates "poor sleep quality".

To evaluate life satisfaction, the Content with Life Scale, consisting of 5 items developed by Lavallee et al. (2007), will be used (27). This one-dimensional scale has a 7-point Likert-type rating ("1" strongly disagree - "7" strongly agree). Turkish validity and reliability analysis was conducted by Akın and Yalnız (2015), and high scores indicate a high level of life satisfaction.

For Shortness-Flexibility evaluation, shoulder (Apley test) and lower extremity flexibility (sit-reach test) (short:3, moderately short:2 and normal:1) will be tested. Measurements will be taken separately for the right and left side of the body.

The index developed by Mahoney and Barthel in 1965 was modified by Shah et al. (1992). This scale evaluates mobility status and stair climbing functions such as feeding, washing, self-care, dressing, defecation control, urinary control, going to the toilet, ability to move from bed to wheelchair, walking or being dependent on a wheelchair, and stair climbing on a scale of 5-15 points (depending on the question). It consists of a total of 10 items that grade each other (0-15 points in 5-point increments).