Introduction
Social relationships impact life satisfaction, physical and mental health, and quality of life among older people. One aspect of social relationships in this group is the interaction and conversations that occur during communication between individuals. Communication is a social process through which people share information and messages, whether positive (satisfactory) or negative. Satisfactory interactions are essential for older people's quality of life [13] and can lead to beneficial outcomes, such as increased self-confidence and enhanced well-being [14, 15]. By maintaining social and family capital through positive interactions, older adults can better adapt to the physiological, social, and environmental changes and limitations of this stage of life. Therefore, recognizing the importance of positive interactions among older people highlights the need to investigate this concept further and identify its dimensions in aging countries, including Iran [28]. Hence, the present study explains the experiences and perceptions of Iranian older individuals regarding positive interactions.

Methods & Materials 
This qualitative study was conducted in 2023. The study population included all elderly individuals aged 60 years and older residing in Bojnurd City, Iran. The inclusion criteria were being at least 60 years old, living in Bojnurd City, Iran, not having an advanced disease, providing written consent to participate, and being able to respond to the researcher's questions. Meanwhile, the participants who were unwilling to continue their cooperation during the study were excluded. Sampling was conducted purposefully and continued until data saturation was reached. Data saturation occurred after interviewing 15 participants, of whom 6 were men and 9 were women. 
The mean age of the participants was 68.64±7.61 years, with a maximum age of 84 years. Among them, 66.6% were married, 33.3% were illiterate, and 26.6% were retired. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews using an interview guide that included main questions, such as “Are you satisfied with your communications with others?” and follow-up questions, such as “What topics do you prefer to talk about when conversing with others?”. Interviews were conducted face-to-face at participants' homes, mosques, or neighborhood parks, each lasting 50 min. Data analysis was performed on the same day as each interview using MAXQDA software , version 2020, following a conventional content analysis approach based on the method proposed by Elo and Kyngäs.

Results 
Given the significant importance of two key dimensions, interaction partners and the content of communications, from the perspective of older adults, the extracted codes were categorized into the following four main categories: interaction with family, interaction with oneself, interaction with God, and interaction with peers, representing the interaction partners. Additionally, nine subcategories were identified, representing the preferred and satisfactory communication contents among older people studied. Interaction with family, with 62 extracted codes (41.3%), it was the most frequent type of satisfactory communication among the elderly participants. It included three subcategories: role-modeling communications (willingness to advise the younger generation, encouraging children to stay united after the parents’ death, emphasizing caring for one another); supportive-caregiving communications (children check on the well-being of the elderly, ask about their needs, and discuss their care and medication requirements); everyday communications (talking about daily matters and grandchildren). 
Older people viewed role-modeling communication as a duty they felt committed to and a means to feel valued within their family and social networks. Although everyday interactions were not centered on specific topics, they were essential and pleasant for older people due to the strong emotional bonds and mutual trust shared with family members (spouses, children, and grandchildren). Subsequently, self-communication, comprising 38 extracted codes (25.3%), was the second most frequent type of satisfactory communication among older people. It included two subcategories: optimistic communications (feeling distant from illness and disability, having hope for the future, hope for maintaining health, and hope for receiving support from others); adaptational communications (accepting fate and God's will, perceiving bodily changes in aging as natural, and accepting aging as a stage of life). Thirdly, Communication with God, comprising 29 extracted codes (19.3%), represents another category of satisfactory communication among the elderly. 
Although these interactions often focused on negative and distressing topics, sharing them with God provided a sense of peace and hope for the elderly. This category included two subcategories: petitioning communications (praying for everyone's health, the success of children, the resolution of problems, easing of illness, children's good fate, and a peaceful death); confiding communications (expressing complaints about hardships, illness, financial difficulties, disrespect from children, and the persistence of unresolved problems).
Lastly, the communication with peers category, with 21 extracted codes (14%), had the fewest codes among the main categories. It included two subcategories: sharing emotions (talking about aging-related problems and illnesses, the economic and income situation during old age, expenses in old age, inflation, and low income); sharing memories (memories of the revolution, war memories, memories from adolescence and youth with friends, and memories from working years). By sharing their emotions, elderly individuals recognized the similarities in their circumstances with their peers and received empathy and emotional validation from them. As a result, their negative feelings diminished, and they gained greater reassurance and encouragement.

Conclusion
Based on the results, raising community awareness, particularly among families with elderly members and their caregivers, about satisfactory communication with the elderly and promoting such interactions, especially supportive-caregiver interactions, can help increase the frequency of satisfactory communications and their positive outcomes for elderly individuals. In addition to family cooperation, national planners need to create suitable conditions to encourage more frequent visits between elderly individuals and their family members and among elderly peers. Furthermore, considering the importance of interaction with oneself and God in the lives of the elderly, it is essential to address their need for solitude in certain situations, their participation in religious ceremonies, and the need for prayer and supplication.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The researchers assured the participants that their details and information would remain completely confidential and that they could withdraw from the study whenever they wished. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Code: IR.USWR.REC.1400.003).

Funding
This article is part of Marzieh Mohammadzadeh's doctoral thesis in gerontology at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Authors' contributions
All authors equally contributed to preparing this article.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors express their gratitude to all individuals who contributed to the completion of this research.

 

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