RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS AND DEPRESSION RISK AMONG ELDERLY LIVING IN THE NURSING HOME, SAMSUN

Introduction: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in the elderly population. Several studies indicate that 10.2- 68.9% of people over 65 years suffer from significant depressive symptoms. Depression in the elderly population is a major public health problem. As a highly prevalent disorder, depression, is frequently comorbid with choronic illnesses, has a negative impact on the quality of life. This descriptive study was conducted to find out the relationship between selected characteristics and depression risk. Materials and Method: Study was conducted among of 61 elderly living in samsun Nursing Home. between December 1-30, 2007 fifty six elderly (91.8%) participated in the study. A form prepared by the researchers was used for data collection and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used for determining depression risk. Face to face interviewing technique was used. The data were evaluated using SPSS 10.0 package program. Results: Elderly individuals mean age was 73.58 +/- 6.69. Elderly individuals were %69.6 male, and %30.4 female. The mean GDS score was 15.12 +/- 5.43. Frequency of high GDS scores was 62.5% among the nursing home residents. In our study depression condition of elderly individuals was not influenced by socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusion: According to GDS score, 62.5% of the elderly, living in Nursing home, had depression risk. As 62.5% of the elderly had GDS score of 14 or more, it is recommended to improve psychologic counselling services at the institution and apply screening tests rutinly.