The effect of participation in university of third age trainings on life satisfaction, loneliness and depression levels of the elderly from the perspective of gerontological social work

This research was conducted to examine the effect of participation in the University of Third Age (U3A) training on the life satisfaction, loneliness and depression levels of the elderly and to evaluate it in terms of gerontological social work. The research was conducted as experimental field research with pre-test, post-test and experimental-control groups. The experimental group consisted of 40 individuals who registered at the Third Age University of Health Sciences (SBÜ3YÜ) in the 2022-2023 Academic Year and met the criteria for participation in the study. For the control group, 37 individuals who had not registered for training were determined by the snowball method. The study was completed with a total of 73 individuals. Personal Information Form, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), UCLA III Loneliness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were used as data collection tools. The data obtained in the study has been analyzed with SPSS 22.0 statistical program. Frequency and percentage analyses were used to determine the descriptive characteristics of the elderly participants in the study, mean and standard deviation statistics were used in the scale examinations. It was determined by Kurtosis (Kurtosis) and Skewness (Skewness) values in which the research variables showed normal distribution. Parametric methods were used while analyzing the data. The differences between the ratios of categorical variables were analyzed using Chi-Square tests in independent groups. Quantitative continuous data of two independent groups were compared with t-test in Independent Groups. For the analysis of intra-group measurements, t-test was applied in Dependent Groups. A significant difference was observed between the pre-test and post-test results of the experimental group in terms of SWLS, UCLA III Loneliness, and GDS, whereas no significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test results of the control group for SWLS, UCLA III Loneliness, and GDS. It was observed that the life satisfaction levels of the experimental group increased in the post-test compared to the pre-test, while the loneliness level decreased in the post-test compared to the pre-test, and the depression level also decreased in the post-test compared to the pre-test. In the control group, no significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test levels of life satisfaction, loneliness, and depression. According to the statistical results of this research, participation in U3A training increased the life satisfaction of the elderly and reduced their loneliness and depression levels. In this regard, it is possible to say that participation in U3A training contributes to the welfare of the elderly from the perspective of gerontological social work.