TITLE:
Depression among elderly living in Briddashram (old age home)
AUTHORS:
Hom Nath Chalise
KEYWORDS:
Depression; Elderly; Briddashram; Old Age Home; Nepal
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.3 No.1,
February
6,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Depression is a common public health issue
with the increasing life expectancy worldwide and depression is associated with
morbidity as well as disability among the elderly. There are very few studies
related with depression among elderly from developing countries. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of depression and its
correlates among the elderly living in Briddashram (old age home). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2012. Data were collected by
face-to-face interview using short version of Geriatric Depression Scale. The
data were analyzed using percentage, mean, simple correlation and regression.
Results: The subjects (N = 185) were elderly aged 60 years and above living
in Devghat area, Nepal. Mean age of the subjects was 73.67 (±3.23) years old
and 51% were male. 94% elderly belong to Khas ethnicity. Nearly one third (31%)
elderly were from nuclear family back ground, 25% were married, and only 18%
elderly were literate. Majority of the elderly (93%) had health problems and
self reported health shows 86% elderly reported their health fair. This study
shows mean functional disability score was 2.53 (±2.05). Finding shows the prevalence of depression was 57.8%. Among them 46.7% had mild, 8.9% had moderate and
2.2% had severe depression. A statistically significant correlation was found
between feelings of depression and age, sex, previous family type, ethnicity,
feeling of loneliness and instrumental activities of daily living. Regression
analysis shows that being women, feeling of loneliness and higher the
dependency in IADL were predictors of depression. Conclusion: This study
indicates that many elderly living in the Briddashram are suffering from
depression. There should be some interruption from the concerned authorities
so that depression can be reduced which will support to the well-being and
quality of life of elderly.