Wheel of Wellness Counseling in Community Dwelling, Korean Elders: a Randomized, Controlled Trial

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Wheel of Wellness counseling on wellness lifestyle, depression, and health-related quality of life in community dwelling elderly people. Methods: A parallel, randomized controlled, open label, trial was conducted. Ninety-three elderly people in a senior welfare center were randomly assigned to two groups: 1) A Wheel of Wellness counseling intervention group (n=49) and 2) a no-treatment control group (n=44). Wheel of Wellness counseling consisted of structured, individual counseling based on the Wheel of Wellness model and provided once a week for four weeks. Wellness lifestyle, depression, and health-related quality of life were assessed pre-and post-test in both groups. Results: Data from 89 participants were analyzed. For participants in the experimental group, there was a significant improvement on all of the wellness-lifestyle subtasks except realistic beliefs. Perceived wellness and depression significantly improved after the in the experimental group (n=43) compared to the control group (n=46) from pre- to post-test in the areas of sense of control (p=.033), nutrition (p=.017), exercise (p=.039), self-care (p < .001), stress management (p=.017), work (p=.011), perceived wellness (p=.019), and depression (p=.031). One participant in the intervention group discontinued the intervention due to hospitalization and three in the control group discontinued the sessions. Conclusions: Wheel of Wellness counseling was beneficial in enhancing wellness for the community-dwelling elderly people. Research into long-term effects of the intervention and health outcomes is recommended.