The relationship between successful aging and happiness in patients admitted to the internal medicine outpatient clinic

Aim: To investigate the well-being and happiness levels of elderly patients attending the outpatient clinic for internal medicine. Methods: The material of our descriptive and cross-sectional survey study; Between 30.06.2022 and 01.12.2022, 492 individuals who did not have cognitive disabilities, could communicate in Turkish, were 18 years of age or older, had a maximum manageable chronic disease, could perform daily living activities and were admitted to Balıkesir Atatürk City Hospital Internal Medicine Outpatient Clinics on an outpatient basis. A 12-question questionnaire in which individuals were questioned about their personal information was applied by face-to-face interviews with the Successful Aging Scale and Happiness Scale survey method. Research; In the data that fit the normal distribution, t-test was used for two groups in independent groups and ANOVA analysis of variance was used for more than two groups. Linear Regression analysis was used to determine the effect of successful aging on happiness. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: The level of successful aging of individuals who applied to the internal medicine outpatient clinic explained the happiness status of 30.7% (t=9.568; p<0.001; R2=0.307). Successful aging of individuals who applied to the internal medicine outpatient clinic significantly increased happiness by 0.283 times (p<0.001); It was found that the healthy lifestyle of the individuals did not significantly affect happiness (t=-1.676; p=0.094; p>0.05). It was concluded that while the education and income status of the individuals participating in the study affected successful aging and happiness status, the occupational status only affected the happiness status. Conclusions: In this study, a positive and moderate relationship was found between successful aging and happiness status of individuals who applied to internal medicine outpatient clinic. The nurse should definitely evaluate the successful aging and happiness status of individuals in order to increase the quality of care. In order to ensure successful aging and happiness, it should be ensured that the society is informed by counseling the nursing staff in instilling healthy lifestyle habits in the society. Key words: Successful aging, Happiness, Internal Medicine Nursing