Abstract Background With the acceleration of the aging process in society, the quality of life and mental health issues of the elderly have received increasing attention. As a positive way of life, tourism not only enriches the elderly's later years, but also has a profound impact on their physical and mental health. Therefore, in order to improve the quality of life and promote the mental health of the elderly, this study explores the positive effects of rehabilitation tourism on their quality of life and mental health. Through in-depth analysis of how tourism activities can improve the social interaction, physical function, and psychological state of the elderly, research will provide scientific basis for the design of elderly tourism products, help create more targeted and effective rehabilitation tourism projects, meet the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the elderly, enhance their sense of life happiness, and provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the healthy development of the elderly tourism market. Methods Select 100 elderly people and randomly divide them into an experimental group and a control group, with 50 people in each group. The control group underwent routine outdoor activities, while the experimental group underwent rehabilitation tourism. Use the Mental Status and Social Participation Assessment Scale (MSSPAS) to assess the quality of life of elderly people, and use the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) to evaluate their mental health status. The significance test p.05 indicates significant differences between groups. Results There was no statistically significant difference in MSSPAS and GAD-7 scores between the two groups of volunteers before intervention (p.05), indicating comparability between the groups. The MSSPAS and GAD-7 scores of each group after intervention are shown in Table 1. According to Table 1, after intervention, the MSSPAS scores of the experimental group and the control group were 7.32 ± 1.41 and 8.69 ± 1.69, respectively (p.05); The GAD-7 scores of the two groups were 3.25 ± 0.94 and 5.74 ± 1.05 (p.05), respectively. The above results indicate that rehabilitation tourism can effectively improve the quality of life and mental health of the elderly. Discussion The research results showed that after intervention, the MSSPAS score of the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the GAD-7 score was also significantly lower than that of the control group, confirming that rehabilitation tourism has a better effect on improving the quality of life and mental health of the elderly than conventional outdoor activities. Rehabilitation tourism promotes social interaction, alleviates loneliness, and improves physical function through diverse scene experiences, thereby reducing anxiety levels. The study did not consider external factors such as economic pressure on the elderly, so in the future, confounding variables such as economic pressure will be included in data analysis, and statistical methods such as multiple regression analysis will be used to eliminate the interference of unrelated factors.
Changzhou Huang (Sun,) studied this question.