ABSTRACT

THE EFFECT OF A HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAMME ON ANXIETY AMONG OLDER ADULTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASES
At Mitra Husada Magetan Inpatient Primary Clinic

RIKA ERLINA WULANSARI

Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Ponorogo
E-mail: rikaerlina66@gmail.com

Chronic diseases in older adults affect not only physical health but also psychological well-being, particularly anxiety. Prolonged anxiety may reduce quality of life and worsen the management of chronic conditions. One non-pharmacological approach to reducing anxiety is the implementation of health education programmes.
This study aimed to determine the effect of a health education programme on anxiety levels among older adults with chronic diseases at the Mitra Husada Magetan Inpatient Primary Clinic.
This study employed a quasi-experimental design using a pretest–posttest without control group approach. The study population comprised all older adults with chronic diseases registered in the PROLANIS programme at the Mitra Husada Magetan Inpatient Primary Clinic. Total sampling was applied, resulting in 32 respondents. Anxiety levels were measured using the Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety (HARS). Data were analysed using univariate descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis with the Wilcoxon test.
The findings showed that prior to the health education programme, most respondents experienced moderate to severe anxiety (56.3%). After the intervention, anxiety levels decreased, with the majority of respondents classified as having mild anxiety (56.3%), and no respondents remained in the severe anxiety category. The Wilcoxon test showed a p-value = 0.000, indicating that the health education program had a significant effect on anxiety levels among older adults with chronic diseases at Mitra Husada Magetan Inpatient Primary Clinic.
The health education program can be considered a non-pharmacological nursing intervention to reduce anxiety levels in older adults with chronic diseases.

Keywords: health education, anxiety, older adults, chronic disease