Autocompaixão e ações de promoção à saúde mental como moderadores da ansiedade entre idosos institucionalizados
Beatriz Dantas Machado, Isabela Thaís Machado de Jesus, Patrícia Regina Manzini, Lucas Nogueira de Carvalho Pelegrini, Juliana de Fátima Zacarin Cardoso, Ariene Angelini dos Santos‐Orlandi
Abstract
The objective of this study has been to verify the relationship between anxiety, self-compassion, and actions to promote mental health of older adults living in long-term facilities. This is an exploratory, cross-sectional, and quantitative study, carried out with 88 older adults living in six institutions in five cities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between 2016 and 2017, using a questionnaire to characterize the participants, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Self-Compassion Scale. Descriptive, correlational, and multiple linear regression analyses were performed using ordinary least squares. All ethical precautions were followed. For each point of increase in self-compassion scores, there was a 1.11% decrease in anxiety scores (p = 0.005). Actions to promote mental health reduced anxiety scores by 0.54% (p = 0.043). Thus, this study concludes that self-compassion and mental health promotion actions reduced anxiety in institutionalized older adults.