Abstract :
Background: Aging process is a natural process that occurs continuously or over time experienced by every living things since their birth. The changes include physical changes, cognitive changes, spiritual changes, psychosocial changes, decreased function and changes in sexual potential. These changes can cause stressful on elderly. To overcome the problem, elderly can do social interactions around environment such as gathering and sharing in order to avoid boredom and sadness during living in nursing home.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between Social Interaction and Social Environment towards Stress in Elderly at Harapan Kita Nursing Home Palembang.
Method: This Quantitative Research used Analytical Survey method with Cross Sectional Survey design. The total number of population were 59 elderly of Harapan Kita Nursing Home Palembang which 38 of them were selected as samples of this study through Purposive Sampling technique. The instrument of the study was questionnaire of social interaction, social environment and stress levels using PSS (Perceived Stress Scale). The data were analyzed by using Kendall Tau test.
Results: The study revealed that most of respondents (31 respondents/81.6%) aged between 60-74 years and 21 respondents (55.3%) are female. Furthermore, the social interaction majority of 22 respondents (57.9%) is sufficient (0-7), the social environment majority of 26 respondents (68.4%) is good (4-6), and the stress level majority of 17 respondents (44.7%) is severe. In addition, the result of Kendall Tau test showed that: (1) there is negative correlation between social interaction and stress level of elderly with (r= -0,646) (p = 0.000), (2) there is negative correlation between social environment and stress level of elderly with (r= -0,585) (p = 0.000). To prevent stress, the elderly are expected to increase social interaction with individuals and other groups around their neighborhood.