Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
Depression Identification in Ill, Home-Bound Elders
Gail Herbert Iglesias, PhD, APN, College of Nursing, College of Nursing, Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Identify three consequences of untreated depression in elders |
| Learning Objective #2: Explain two pros and cons for the use of the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form |
Purpose and Design: Depression is a major public health problem among the elderly. Authors suggest that 10-35% of the elder population suffers from depressive symptoms. The consequences of untreated depression include increased health care visits, diminished quality of life and increased morbidity and mortality. Thus it is important that health care providers work in partnership with patients and families to identify and treat depressive symptomatology in elders. This study investigates the correlation between the Zung Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS), a widely used measure of depression in adults, and the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form (GDSsf) which offers ease and simplicity of administration, but has not been validated on ill, homebound elders. Methods, Population, Findings: A convenience sample was drawn from the patient population of approximately 800 open cases in a visiting nurse agency in northern New Jersey. All subjects were voluntary, 65 years of age or older, currently requiring skilled nursing services, and able to read and speak English. Both depression scales were administered by registered nurses and 118 complete data sets were acceptable for analysis. The two scales were correlated (r=.76,p<.01) and internal reliability of the GDSsf was .825. For the GDSsf, 37% of the sample had scores of 8 or higher; for the SDS, 20% had scores higher than 50, falling within the range of persons with probable depressive symptomatology. Conclusions and Implications: The positive correlation and reliability results from this study support the use of the GDSsf by community health nurses as a screening tool for depression in home bound, ill elderly patients. It is recommended that referrals and interventions follow the protocols described in nursing literature. For persons scoring 8 or greater, primary care providers should be alerted to the need for psychiatric evaluation. Those persons scoring 5-8 should be monitored by their health care team.
Back to Depression and Suicide
Back to 15th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004