Improving mental health and self-efficacy in older people through a mindfulness-based community intervention

Abstract

Ageing is a process that involves biological, psychological, and social changes making older people more susceptible to decreased self-efficacy and deteriorating their mental health. With the global population ageing, there is a growing demand for interventions tailored to address their specific mental health problems and improve their overall well-being. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based community intervention on mental health and self-efficacy in older individuals. The study involved 257 participants who were divided into an intervention and a control group. Assessments were conducted at the beginning and 6 months after its completion. The results revealed a significant reduction in depression within the intervention group (p <.001). Furthermore, the intervention led to significant improvements in general self-efficacy, chronic disease self-management self-efficacy, physical activity and nutrition self-efficacy within the intervention group compared to the control group. Overall, the results demonstrate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based community interventions in improving mental health and self-efficacy in older people in community settings. The results of the present study showed that this programme resulted in immediate health benefits in terms of mental health and self-efficacy of older people, while giving a contribution to the development of effective strategies for chronic disease self-management.