Depression Among Homebound Older Adults

2877 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on what is the prevalence of depression among older people

Introduction According to the U.S. census bureau older adults are an important and rapidly growing segment of the United States’ population. There are about 40 million older adults aged 65 and older residing in Unites States and it is projected to be more than double by 2050(Population Reference Bureau, 2015). This projection is due to advancement in health care facilities and better education (Population Reference Bureau, 2015). As people age they face various physical, psychological and social roles changes which affects their quality of life. More specifically, the transitions associated with later life like retirement, medical problems, death of a loved ones, reduced social networks leads to depression in aging population (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009). It is seen that depression is one of the most common mental disorder among adults aged 65 and older (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009).Depression is associated with anxiety and suffering that can lead to physical, mental, and social impairments. The presence of depressive disorders often negatively impact the course and complicates the treatment of other chronic diseases too (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009).According to National Alliance of Mental Illness there are more than two million of the 40 million Americans age 65 and older who suffer from some form of depression (National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), 2009). Additionally, in the epidemiological and other community-based studies it was found that older adults who are homebound due to multiple chronic illness and disability suffered from depressive symptoms more than those who are able to walk around without assistive device (Choi,Sire & Bruce,2013).Homebound older adults are... ... middle of paper ... ...erapy for late life Depression. Society of biological psychiatry, 52: 293-303. Forsman, A.K., & Nordmyr, J. (2011). Psychosocial interventions for the promotion of mental health and the prevention of depression among older adults. Health promotion international, Vol.26 No.SI Ayalon, L., Fialova, D., Arean, P.A. et al. (2010). Challenges associated with the recognition and treatment of depression in older recipients of home care services. International Psychogeriatric, 22:4, 514-522 Duckworth.(2009).MentalIllness.Retrievedfrom: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7515 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (2009). The State of Mental Health and Aging in America. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/mental_health_brief_2.pdf

Show More
Related

  • Depressive and Anxiety Disorders in the Elderly Population

    2067 Words  | 5 Pages

    Acquiring a comprehensive understanding of the ailments encountered by the aging population is critical for properly providing the care that they require. Physical ailments, often easier to diagnose and treat are perceived to be the most prevalent hardships for aged people. However, studies show that a significant number of seniors are subject to mental illnesses. Thus, emphasizing the need for the important of mental health within the aging population. Though all mental illnesses have an unfavorable impact on the quality of one’s life, depressive and anxiety disorders tend to the most devastating for an elderly person.

    Read More

  • Depression In Social Work Essay

    404 Words  | 1 Pages

    A comprehensive picture of geriatric depression in social work practice needs to include advances in healthcare and technology as a contributing factor for longevity. The current average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is 78 years old (CDC, 2013). Older adults are living longer than ever before, and social workers are confronted by the challenges of supporting the wellbeing of their elderly until the end of life. Currently, older adults are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population estimated to increase from 14 to 20 percent by 2030 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014; Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] & Merck Foundation, 2007). The drastic shift in the demographics has caused late-life depression to be a public health concern (CDC & National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, 2009). According to the CDC (2015), the prevalence estimates of major depression in older adults varies from 1% to 13.5%. Furthermore, the prevalence of

    Read More

  • Exploring the Impacts of Ageism in the Mental Health and Addictions Sector

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    In order to address whether or not ageism is a systemic problem within the mental health and addictions sector, it is important to assess if age-related discrimination is prevalent at the service level and if service providers are contributing to the issue. Allen, Cherry and Palmore (2009) determined that professionals in nursing home settings report higher positive expressions of ageing than do social workers, undergraduate social-work students, and graduate social–work students. The overall rates of negative attitudes towards ageing across these groups were lower than expected, which can likely be accounted for...

    Read More

  • Supporting the Elderly

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    As adults the transition into old age can be difficult for some people. Frustration, lack of responsibility and dependence can make the process of aging undesirable. Old age should be viewed as another phase of life, but not the end of life. In order to help elderly cope with aging it is important for them to have social interaction. Support from family, friends and the local community can make a difference in the psychological well being of older adults.

    Read More

  • Depression In Isolated Older Adult: Article Analysis

    1296 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depression is very common throughout the older adult population due to social isolation and other factors; such as change in living conditions e.g. economic (job loss and limited income), family history, personality (low self-esteem, self-critical and naturally depressive outlook), serious medical illness and substance use (Gouda & Okamoto, 2012). Depression can be treated with therapy and medications but depression is more complex than a simple chemical imbalance. As stated in the on-foot survey, 19.7% of Wulguru is aged 60 and over and between 10 to 15 percent of community-dwelling older adults experience depression and its higher in residential care homes at 35 percent (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2016). Depression is a health problem for older adults in Wulguru as social isolation is a major challenge for them due to limited community activities such as community gardens, reading/knitting groups, easily accessed physical activity areas e.g. tennis courts, bowls area,

    Read More

  • Human Development Theory Case Study

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    This psychosocial theory is one of the main reasons why ‘changing the way America ages’ is what American Senior Assistances Programs is all about. Many elders want to look back on their life and enjoy what they have done. However, not everyone is as fortunate to grow old and healthy. This could mean that many elders begin to see signs in decreasing health and become incompetent. Therefore, caregivers, care managers, or even guardians have to be appointed in order to take care of the elders

    Read More

  • Improving Mood Disorders: A Case Study

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    This is a program for older adults suffering from depression and chronic forms of mood disorders. The intervention, a stepped and collaborative approach, is designed such that each participant’s primary care provider is working with a nurse, social worker or psychologist to generate a course of treatment.

    Read More

  • Therapeutic Effects of Yoga

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    Underwood, M. et al., 2013. Exercise for depression in elderly residents of care homes: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. The Lancet, 382(9886), pp. 41-49.

    Read More

  • Arthritis Research Paper

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    Depression can develop through various elements such as environmental factors physiological factors, biological, physical and others. The connection between depressive symptoms and arthritis pain is significant, studies have indicated they can be intertwined with a rate between 30%-50% (). As the severity of pain with arthritis increases, often it is noted that individuals have a tendency to become less active which can ultimately result in withdrawal. This withdrawal can evoke feelings of isolation which has the possibility of developing into depression (). Furthermore, the comorbidity of these conditions is frequently present in elderly adults (). Older adults often experience a reduced quality of life due to the aging process but these conditions can exacerbate that. Therefore, research on this topic is invaluable as elderly depression often goes undiagnosed, and one of its most notable symptom is physical pain. As the Canadian population is altering overtime, due to the baby boomers, it is estimated that by 2036 the senior population will account for over a quarter of the population

    Read More

  • Major Depressive Disorder: A Case Study

    958 Words  | 2 Pages

    More specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016) reports that “49% of those residing in nursing homes have been diagnosed with this mental illness”. Unfortunately, the presence of depression in these facilities has been greatly under-recognized despite the fact almost half of nursing home residents have a diagnosis of depression. Nursing staff have the opportunity to improve those patients’ outcomes which is significant because “the association between depression and quality of life highlights the importance of identifying and treating depression in nursing home residents with and those without dementia” (Gerritsen et al.,

    Read More

  • Depression In Older Adults

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to Anderson, Cesur, & Tekin (2015), depression is a very serious mental health problem all around the world and can sometimes be difficult to diagnose. Depression in the adolescent population is found to be one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Depression in older adults is just as common as in the adolescent population. Adolescents with depressive disorders commonly go untreated because it is not recognized, the fear of judgement, or adolescence are not aware of the symptoms of the disorder (Schiller, Schulte-Körne, Eberle-Sejari, Maier, & Allgaier, 2014). The elderly goes untreated because of stressful life events, the cause of another illness prior

    Read More

  • Mental Health Research Paper

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Acccording to Ryan N. Schmidt and Jong Deuk Baek (2014) listed many common risk factors that occur in elderly persons that can lead to depression. Some of these risk factors are being lonely (about 30% of non institutionalized elderly live alone), most live under the poverty lever, cognitive impairment causes depression and anxiety levels to rise, also having functional limitations, lack of social support, and negative life events all severely impact mental health in persons over sixty-fix years. (Schmidt and Baek, 2014,

    Read More

  • Depression In The Elderly Population

    255 Words  | 1 Pages

    Thank you for responding to my inquiry, it helps to improve my awareness regarding the barriers of global mental health in your community is due to inadequate knowledge primarily in the elderly population. Most of my patients admitted to our facility ( skilled nursing facility) have a diagnosis of depression. According to Park, Lee, B. Kim, K. Kim, Chae & Cho (2015), the high occurrence of depression is in the elderly population who lives in their home or apartment. Diagnosing or providing mental intervention in the elderly population is usually delayed due to inability to fully understand the typically detailed feature, as well as the mixture of the standard course of depression (Park et al. (2015).

    Read More

  • Elderly Intervention

    235 Words  | 1 Pages

    The skilled nursing facility provided psychosocial counseling as well as social services to John. Also, the Certified Nurse Assistants assigned to him were aware of his emotional state. Thus, interventions were implemented. Just like John, there are numerous available resources that an elderly population can utilize to live a quality life. However, the actual challenge lies in the acknowledgment of the presence of problems and identification of such needs, both on the part of the patient and the caregiver. For instance, depression is underdiagnosed because the symptoms are overlooked and undertreated since they exhibited simultaneously with other issues confronting the older adults (World Health Organization, 2017). Moreover, elderly tends

    Read More

  • Depression In Older Adults Essay

    542 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both younger adults and older adults are susceptible to mental health issues such as depression. Depression is a mood disorder that is characterized with changes in feelings and thoughts such as sadness and worthless. There are several risk factors that can contribute to depression including stressful events such as death of a friend or partner and chronic illness (WWK p.256). Although the prevalence of depression is lower in older adults, many older adults report symptoms of depression that are different than younger adult symptoms. For example, young adults may feel guilty and have suicidal thoughts while older adults may experience physical symptoms such as pain (WWK p.255). Differences in symptoms of depression in both groups and

    Read More

More about Depression Among Homebound Older Adults

Open Document