Rachel Smith Piper Baucom Dylan Causey Lupita MV. Elderly Depression Essay There is a big problem within the elderly community. That problem is depression; specifically depression within nursing homes/assisted living communities. This is mainly a problem caused by factors such as loneliness and “poor quality of life”(National Institute of Health 2017). Currently, depression affects 49% of elderly in nursing homes (CDC 2014). This is a substantially higher percentage than the other percentages of elderly depression in day centers, hospice and etc. Why are we interested in this issue? We are interested in this issue because we find that it is important to take care of people who are depressed, but we find it especially necessary to take care of the depressed elderly. Also we think it is important to help others and we think others should as well. We feel personally compelled to pursue this issue because we have experienced depression around us in our family and friends. This really influences us to do something to help towards the issue. Other people should feel compelled to care about this issue because the elderly are very important. Also the elderly deserve to be happy after such a long life; they do not deserve to be depressed. Depression is a serious topic that many people aren't aware of, especially depression among the elderly. Many people may think it is not as important because they are old or that they have lived through everything, but they still have a life to live. Depression among the elderly is common but it's not really known. The elderly often times develop symptoms of depression due to the deaths of their loved ones, medical problems, or just any changes major or not. Depression manly affects the elderly because of any medications they use and or diseases they may have. Depression is common due to the fact that they are ageing. Depression affects 20% of Americans older than 65 year of age (Platt 2018). This is important; it might not look like a lot but it’s still a pretty big percentage of the population. All of the diseases/ health problems they may have might lead them to frustration and eventually depression. Elderly depression is a major problem amongst sixty year-old and older patients in nursing homes and hospitals. They can develop serious mental issues and disabilities. These may affect their mental condition and social activities(healthline 2017). The elderly may feel sad or not normal, but they shouldn't be depressed. Their depression is often from their genes as well as physical and psychological problems(healthline 2017). Depression becomes worse as the mind ages. Many people have tried to fix and eliminate signs and symptoms of elderly depression(PCM 2006). People try things such as pills and medicine to mainly limit symptoms. Some hospitals have even done surgery procedures to fix the mental illness(PMC 2006). Many elderly try to seek psychological help and or counselor to help with depression. Nursing homes also try to stay upbeat and interact with the elderly and entertain them to help improve their living(PMC 2006). Many things that people do with the elderly is to have get them lots of exercise and also establish new hobbies as well as family visits and family time(PMC 2006). There are many things people have done to improve elderly depression. What can I do? I can go volunteer with my acquaintances, at a nursing home. We would love to enjoy long conversations with the elderly, or play games with them. We would love to just volunteer wherever they may need support. We’ve called (The Morningside of Raleigh) a retirement home and they would be happy with us volunteering! The service day is prospectively on June 6th. The preferred amount of students to go volunteer at Morningside is 15-20 students. The students and their parents would have to fill out Wake County’s permission slips, those are the only requirements of Morningside of Raleigh. We would take a bus, it’s a six minute ride, round trip. We need volunteers who will be respectful, quiet, patient, and volunteers who are less hyper. We have to remember that these citizens need assistance but some students may not work well with elders. They would need to be productive, to participate with activities we do. Also, they would have to help brainstorm fun games, recreation or pastimes. If you had to decide which students were to go to the elderly home, who would fit the requirements/preferred persona for the job? Our final goal is to help the elderly. We want to bring a little joy into their lives. We know that living in an elderly home may have a dreary effect on someone’s life. They may become depressed, lonely, and/or bored. Hopefully, when we volunteer, we’ll play games and have fun with them, which will hopefully brighten up their day. Work Cited Diefenbach, Gretchen and Goethe, John. “Clinical Interventions for Late-Life Anxious Depression”. National Center for Biotechnology Information. March 2006. 26 Jan.2018<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2682453/ > Hurley,Katie. ”Depression in the elderly.” psycom. 2 November 2017. 25 January 2018<https://www.psycom.net/depression.central.elderly.html> Kavael, Linda et. all. “Associations between physical function and depression in nursing home residents with mild and moderate dementia: a cross-sectional study”. National Center for Biotechnology Information. 20 Jul.2017. 22 Jan.2018 <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541615/> Krans, Brian. “ Geriatric Depression (Depression in Older Adults)”. Healthline. 22 Jun.2017. 24Jan.2018 <https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/elderly#Overview1> Platt,Kelly. ”Depression in older adults.” thagroup. 9 January 2014. 24 January 2018<http://www.thagroup.org/depression-older-adults/> Rome, Vincent. “Percentage of Users* of Long-Term Care Services with a Diagnosis of Depression,† by Provider Type — National Study of Long-Term Care Providers, United States, 2011 and 2012”. Center for disease control . 31 Jan.2014. 29 Jan.2018 <https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6304a7.htm> Secretary, The Morningside of Raleigh. Personal Interview. 25 January 2018. Hyperlinks: www.healthline.com
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