Abstract

Introduction: Elderly is regarded as a critical period of human life, which  the related issues and needs in this period are socially necessitated to be taken into consideration. Studies have shown that living with other family members produces positive effects on the physical and mental health of the elderly. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the perceived social support and life expectancy in both groups of the elderly residents and non-residents of nursing homes in Yazd.

Methods: In this descriptive study, the population consisted of all elderly residents and non-residents of nursing homes in Yazd, among which 117 patients were selected as the study sample via convenience sampling method. In order to measure the study variables, the social support and life expectancy questionnaires were utilized, and the study data were analyzed applying descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and factor analysis of variance.

Results: The study results demonstrated a significant direct relationship between the two variables of social support and life expectancy (P<0/01) within elderly residents and non-residents. Furthermore, a significant difference was observed between the scores of social support and life expectancy in regard with  elderly residents and non-residents, elderly men and women, as well as the elderly in the different sub-categories of marital status (P<0/01).

Conclusion: The study results revealed that the elderly’s families and children are recommended to possibly take care of them in their own homes in order to promote the elderly’s social and mental health.