The Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment-Based Therapy on the Quality of Life and Death Anxiety in the Elderly

Aging appears to be a global phenomenon that will be considered as one of the most important social and welfare challenges in developing countries in the near future, and it seems necessary to try to solve the problems of the elderly, namely their psychological problems. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of acceptance and commitment-based therapy (ACT) on the quality of life and death anxiety in the elderly living in Kermanshah, Iran. This was a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest and control group design. The statistical population included all the elderly living in Kermanshah in 2020. The sample size included 30 aged people (60 to 70 years old) selected by convenience sampling method and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. The experimental group received ten 90-minute sessions of ACT, twice a week, and the control group assigned to a waiting list for the treatment. The measures used in this study included the WHO Quality of Life Questionnaire and Cult-Leicester’s Death Anxiety Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS-25. The results indicated that there is a significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of both quality of life and death anxiety. In other words, ACT caused an improvement in quality of life and a reduction in death anxiety in the elderly (p < 0.05). Given the results of the present study, therapists and health-related practitioners can take advantages of ACT in conducting health-related interventions, particularly in order to improve the quality of life and to reduce the death anxiety in the elderly.

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