Community Health Advocacy Project Part Four - Essay Example

Depression in Elderly People Depression in Elderly People Introduction Depression is a psychological condition that causes an individual to experience significant reduction in self confidence that most of the cases lead a person towards committing suicide (Penninx, Geerlings, Deeg, Eijk, Tilburg, & Beekman, 1999). The level of depression is much higher in the elderly population because they have developed severe physical illnesses which caused their self esteem to diminish over the passage of time.

This research effort will attempt to answer following questions regarding the presence of depression in the elderly. It is noteworthy that 85% of people with the age of 65 or more suffer from depression and hopelessness in the US alone. Q.1 What are the causes of depression in elderly? The most prominent causes of depression in the elderly include lack of physical activity, lower self esteem and reduction in social activity. According to psychology people who exercise properly on a daily basis are less likely to contract various diseases whereas those people who manage to maintain an appropriate level of self esteem and keep on working hard towards attaining their professional and personal goals can avoid the possibility of depression because of their healthy lifestyle (Livingston, Blizard, & Mann, 1993). Q.2 What nursing staff can do in terms of decreasing depression in elderly?

The nursing and other medical staff can help older patients in fighting depression by motivating them to maintain the habit of walking. Moreover, the medical staff should also promote the habit of reading in the patients because it is believed that books can help humans in recovering from diseases. The books are helpful regarding fighting depression because they provide patients with an opportunity to shift focus from the disease and thus they experience less psychological burden (Schulz, Drayer, & Rollman, 2002). Q.3 Can family play a role in alleviating depression in elderly?

Yee, the family and friends can also play a significant role in eliminating depression and hopelessness in the elderly because old people are found to be considering their children and family as true sources of motivation. More especially elders tend to extract happiness from educational and professional achievements of the children. Therefore it is suggested that families should maintain close contact with elders in order to prolong their life span.Q.4 Is retirement a source of depression? Yes, retirement can also be taken as an active cause of depression because it forces elders to think that they are not of any use to the society anymore.

But it is the responsibility of the society to keep retirees busy in healthy activities like gardening. The elders should also be encouraged towards joining social clubs so that they can have sufficient social activity as well. Q.5 Is gender an important factor in causing depression? Yes, gender is an important factor in the equation of depression because elderly females have 25% more chance of experiencing hopelessness than males. The causes of the above pattern are still unknown. But according to preliminary studies on the topic, females’ body structure gets weak over the passage of time and therefore their ability to spend an active life becomes limited that causes depression.

References Livingston, G., Blizard, B., & Mann, A. (1993). Does sleep disturbance predict depression in elderly people? A study in inner London. British Journal ofGeneral Practice Vol 43(1) , pp.445-448.Penninx, B., Geerlings, S., Deeg, D., Eijk, J., Tilburg, W., & Beekman, A. (1999). Minor and Major Depression and the Risk of Death in Older Persons. Archives of General Psychiatry Vol 56(10) , pp.889-895.Schulz, R., Drayer, R., & Rollman, B. (2002). Depression as a Risk Factor for Non-Suicide Mortality in the Elderly.

Biological Psychiatry Vol 52(1) , pp.205-225.