Association between Mental Health and Healing among Elderly Physical Therapy Patients

Authors

Marlee C. Daniel, Schreiner UniversityFollow
Kristen McAlexanderFollow

Abstract

Despite their documented successes, mental health interventions are rarely a focus during physical therapy treatments, particularly among the geriatric population. PURPOSE: To measure mental health status and perceived healing among physical therapy patients aged 60 years or older. METHODS: Ten participants (5 males, 5 females) were recruited at a local physical therapy clinic. Three participants (N males=1, M age=67 years, N females=2, M age=80.5 years), were able to complete a modified version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) that included a self-reported healing scale. RESULTS: Female participants reported feeling nervous, worried, and fearful less often than the male participant during physical therapy. The oldest participant reported feeling no anxiety during her physical therapy sessions. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that gender may be a factor in self-reported mental health measures and perceived healing during physical therapy. Future studies should increase sample size and examine the associations among self-reported anxiety variables and healing among both genders and various geriatric ages during physical therapy.

Recommended Citation

Daniel, Marlee C. and McAlexander, Kristen (2020) "Association between Mental Health and Healing among Elderly Physical Therapy Patients," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 12, Article 53.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss12/53