The comparative of Loneliness and its related factors in rural and urban elderly people in Behshahr city

Introduction: Little is known about characteristics of loneliness among rural and urban older people. The purpose of this study was to determine Loneliness comparison and its related factors between urban and rural elderly people. Method: In this descriptive study, 280 community dowelling elderly people were selected by systematic random sampling method in Behshahr city in 2018. Data were gathered using Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale for Adults (SELSA) questionnaire, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Index (IADL), and the Medical-Demographic questionnaire. Data were Analyzed by SPSS 22.0 software using descriptive statistics, via the independent t-test, one-way ANOVA test, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Multiple Linear regression with stepwise analysis. Results: The mean of Loneliness score for the urban and rural elderly were 33.00 ± 8.34 and 33.57 ± 9.89, respectively. There was no significantly relationship between total loneliness score among urban and rural elderly, however emotional score was significantly more among rural elderly compared to urban elders (P = 0.033). According to the multivariate linear regression analysis results, marital status had the most strongly affected on the sense of loneliness among both urban and rural elders. Conclusion: Regarding the high incidence of loneliness in the elderly, Perforrming more studies and designing educational, consulting, and supportive interventions is suggested, in order to prevent of loneliness and its adverse outcomes.