While 11% of the
elders reported feeling depressed when they received care in their
homes through medical and social services, 30% of the elders reported
the same depressive feelings at a long-term care facility. Also, 62%
of the elders in long-term care facilities were prescribed
antidepressants at some point time after their admission, compared to
only about 25% of the elders cared for at home.
Lindsay Egan and
Jodi Shapuras, both undergraduate students in the social work program
at Indiana State University, conducted their study at their
internships as part of a senior-level field practicum class. Shapuras
and Egan stated "We are both interested in working with the elderly
population in our careers, so we conducted this research to get a
better feel for the prevalence of depression and those who need some
level of outside care." Shapuras stated "As social workers, it is
important to understand the mental health issues, such as depression,
within the different care settings."
Neither of the
researchers seemed to be too surprised by their findings. "We actually
hypothesized that the long-term care patients would utilize
antidepressants more and would self-report depression more,” Egan
said. "When an individual moves to a long-term care facility, they
undergo a tremendous amount of changes. They're no longer able to
live independently and are relying on others for care, and this
greatly affects how they feel about themselves and the world around
them." Shapuras concluded that in an individual's home, they're still
residing in a familiar environment. "They're still at home and
independently able to complete some activities of daily living, such
as bathing, cooking or feeding themselves, whereas a long-term care
patient may not be able to do all of those tasks." She concluded.
The researchers
are hoping that their study will help to create a higher level of
awareness of depression among the elderly, and the degree to which
antidepressants are prescribed in long-term care settings. Egan
stated "I would like to see more effective alternative treatments
researched, as opposed to what seems to in many cases to be the
automatic prescribing an antidepressant.” Shapuras also said she would
like to see more research done in this area and concluded that "It
seems as though medications are sometimes viewed as the "fix-all" when
depression becomes apparent." She went on to say, "I hope to work in
the field of gerontology as a social worker and to make some positive
changes somewhere along the line."
Information adapted from:
The elderly self-report more depression and
are more likely to be prescribed antidepressants in long term care
facilities according to a new
study. This recent study reported at ScienceDaily (May 9, 2008),
was conducted by social work students at Indian University.