Assessment of level of depression and its associated factors in elderly.
- c2013.
- 65p. :
Thesis Report
ABSTRACT:
Background: Elderly depression, a disorder occurring during the elderly is marked by sadness, loneliness, irritability, worthlessness, hopelessness, agitation and guilt that may be accompanied by array of physical symptoms Depression is predicted to become one of the two most burdensome diseases worldwide .Depression can be considered a major public health issue among elderly.
Objective: To assess the level of depression and its association factors in elderly. Method: The descriptive study design was conducted with 100 participants to assess level of depression and its association factors in elderly. Purposive non-probability sampling technique was applied to select the participants used. The depression level of elderly was assessed using standardized tools which consisted of Structured Demographic profile with selected variables and Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form. Data processing and analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Science 17.0. Chi-square test was used to identify the association between dependent and independent variables.
Result: The present study revealed 27% of respondents had no depression, 38% had mild depression, 18% had moderate depression and 16% had severe depression. The mean GDI score was 2.23 with standard deviation of 1.023.The depression was significantly associated with age (p=0.000), stressful events (p=0.000) and kind of illness present (p=0.007).Chi square test was applied at 95% confidence interval.
Conclusion: There exists depression among elderly which does not have the association with sex, ethnicity, religion, educational status, but has association with age, stressful life events, and illness present. It can be summarized that elderly depression is growing mental health problem and needs further studies to validate the findings.