Elderly Depression Case Study

After a long day at work, I collect my thoughts and review the previous events of the day. An event that clearly stands out in my mind is a conversation I had with an elderly resident at my work. Over the past two years, I have worked at a retirement home called Grand Wood Park as a dietary aide, where it is my job to serve the residents their meals. When I was at work, one of the residents mentioned something to me I had never considered prior to our conversation. She said she feels as though no one cares about her anymore. Her family members do not come and visit her, they have ageist ideas, misconceptions, and often undermine her mental capabilities. I tried my best to reassure her, but I knew this was not enough since my reassurance would

It is estimated that 11-78% of residents in nursing homes are suffering from depression, especially those with dementia (Volicer, Frijters, Van der Steen, 2011). Elderly depression can have many causes, however it is widely believed a decline in physical health, and reduced contact with family and friends are two of the most prominent reasons (Llewellyn-Jones, 2007). With limited to no family contact, elderly like the rest of us feel lonely, forgotten and unimportant. On the contrary, a study conducted by researchers Holahan and Moos found with family support, depression in elderly people decreased over a one year time span (Greenglass, Fiskenbaum, Eaton, 2006). Therefore, if more elderly residents of nursing and retirement homes are visited by their family members, their mental and physical well being will likely increase. I have witnessed at the retirement home I work at, some of the residents consistently have family visit them while others I have ever seen them have a visitor. The ones who are visited, often tend to be noticeably happier and healthier, while the ones who usually remain alone tend to be more unhappy and physically unwell. For instance, I worked last Christmas and I was surprised by the amount of residents who remained in the facility on Christmas day. Although the majority of the residents went home, there still were about 25-30 out of approximately 100 residents who remained on Christmas Day. The fact that these residents had no family to spend the holiday with, or were not invited by their family members was heartbreaking, especially since holidays like Christmas are heavily focused on family relationships. Exclusion and isolation, similar to what the remaining residents experienced on Christmas day, can be interpreted by the elderly as a loss of their family 's respect and may feel as though they are a