Reducing anxiety level by using progressive relaxation among the elderly people in the nursing home.

Abstract The prevalence of anxiety in the elderly is very high. Anxiety in the elderly is characterized by sleep disturbances, withdrawal and isolating behavior, and other compulsive behaviors. One form of behavior therapy is relaxation techniques. To determine the effect of progressive relaxation on reducing anxiety levels in the elderly in the nursing home. This study is quantitative with a quasi-experimental method. The study was conducted at the Dharma Bhakti Nursing Home in Surakarta in March 2019. The sample consisted of 17 elderly assigned to the experimental group and 17 elderly for the control group. The anxiety instrument used was Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the tools used for relaxation were backrests or beds. The average results of the experimental group pre (17.29) post (7.24) p-value (0.001), the control group pre-mean (14.18), post (14.47) p-value (0.289). Progressive relaxation has a significant influence on reducing anxiety levels on the elderly.