The effect of a health promotion comprehensive educational intervention on the frailty of elderly families allowing care

Aim: The study aims to determine the effect of the "Health Promotion and Development" comprehensive training on the frailty, healthy lifestyle behaviors and quality of life in family caregivers aged over 60 suffering from frailty. Method: The randomized controlled study was conducted with 75 caregivers (intervention: 38, control: 37), registered in home health unit affiliated with Antalya Central Kepez State Hospital during July 2023 and March 2024. Data was collected with the Personal Information Form, "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors II" scale, "FRAIL" frailty scale and "World Health Organization Quality of Life Module for the Elderly" scale. The educational intervention training was developed according to Pender's health promotion model and applied only to the intervention group. Independent sample t test and One-way ANOVA were used for group differences, while Paired sample t test was applied to determine the effect of intervention. Results: According to baseline and follow-up comparisons, an increase was detected in the intervention group's scores on all dependent variables, while "Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors II" scores were significantly different (p˂0,05) with a strong effect (d=1). Comparing the dependent variables of pre-test and post-test scores of the groups, a significant difference (p˂0,05) and a strong effect (d> 0,8) were obtained for all dependent variables in the intervention group. Conclusion: The intervention was effective on Frailty, Halthy Lifestyle Behaviors, and Quality of Life in older adults, revealing the value of gerontological interventions for the health of older adults. Since interventions to improve health of older adults are designed by gerontologists; not only older adults but also caregivers should be considered and evaluated as a risk group. Their limitations should be taken into account and determined individually, and most effective models of applied gerontology should be determined. Keywords: Gerontological intervention, Older caregiver, Informal care, fraility, Health promotion