Elderly Women’s Experience of the Role of Hydrotherapy in Health: Content Analysis

Authors

Parand Pourghane, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, IranFollow

Abstract

Living to an old age is considered by many elderly women to bring about a decreased quality of life. Hydrotherapy allows individuals to engage in certain physical activities that cannot be done outside the water. The purpose of this study was to explore elderly women’s experience of the role of hydrotherapy in their health and was conducted in selected pools of Guilan province in Iran in 2015-2016. Twenty-three elderly women were selected using a purposeful sampling strategy. The data was gathered through semi-structured interviews; Researchers used a qualitative design, based on a content analysis approach. Analysis results were identified as 3 main themes and 12 subthemes. Improved physical health: reduced consumption of painkillers, improved balance, pleasant breathing, easy menopause; Moving toward ability: increased independence, role fulfillment, application of efficient strategies, will to health; Psychological and social relief: sense of liveliness, reduced stress, peaceful sleep and re-emergence in society. “Competence development” was identified as the central code. Results indicate that participation in hydrotherapy by elderly women supported the benefit of advising them to participate in hydrotherapy sessions, as well as government’s cooperation with regard to creating proper conditions for improving the health and life quality of this valuable population.

Keywords

Hydrotherapy, Elderly Women, Experience, Qualitative Research

Author Bio(s)

Parand Pourghane, PhD. is an Assistant Professor in Department of Nursing in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. Her areas of research include education, cardiac rehabilitation and qualitative studies. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: p.pourghane@yahoo.com.

Acknowledgements

The researcher of the present study would like to express her gratitude to all the participants for their contribution and commitment to the study and sharing their experiences. The present study is the partial result of the program ratified by Guilan University of Medical Sciences in Iran under the code IR.GUMS.REC.1394.281 dated 5th October, 2015. The researcher of the present study would also like to express her gratitude to the research deputy of Guilan University of Medical Sciences for their financial support. The researcher of the present study declares that no conflict of interest exists in the present study.

Publication Date

10-27-2017

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2770

Recommended APA Citation

Pourghane, P. (2017). Elderly Women’s Experience of the Role of Hydrotherapy in Health: Content Analysis. The Qualitative Report, 22(10), 2827-2843. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2770