Tsai Yun-Fang
School of Nursing, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
Nurs Res. 2007 Mar-Apr;56(2):124-31. doi: 10.1097/01.NNR.0000263973.31748.0c.
Depression in the elderly has become a serious healthcare issue worldwide, but studies of self-care strategies and risk factors for depressive symptoms are limited.
To determine the self-care strategies and risk factors for depressive symptoms among residents of public elder care homes in Taiwan.
A cross-sectional design was used. Two of 18 public elder care homes were chosen by random sampling throughout Taiwan. Residents (N = 200) of these two care homes who were 65 years old or above and without severe cognitive deficit participated in this study.
Nearly half of the participants (49%) were identified by the Geriatric Depression Scale as depressed. Most participants (93%) used self-care strategies to manage their depressive symptoms. The most frequently used strategy was "take a walk." Self-learning was the main information source for self-care strategies. Logistic regression analysis indicated that cognitive function, perceived health status, and osteoarthritis were significant predictors of depression in this sample.
Because older persons tended to engage in activities and to interact with others to manage their depressive symptoms, healthcare providers in public elder care homes may consider arranging enough activities and people contacts for residents. Due to the limited number of healthcare providers in these homes, the author recommends increasing the knowledge of both providers and residents about depression and self-care management strategies.
老年人抑郁症已成为全球严重的医疗保健问题，但关于自我护理策略及抑郁症状风险因素的研究有限。
确定台湾公立养老院居民抑郁症状的自我护理策略及风险因素。
采用横断面设计。通过随机抽样从台湾18所公立养老院中选取2所。这两所养老院中65岁及以上且无严重认知缺陷的居民（N = 200）参与了本研究。
近一半的参与者（49%）被老年抑郁量表判定为抑郁。大多数参与者（93%）采用自我护理策略来管理他们的抑郁症状。最常使用的策略是“散步”。自我学习是自我护理策略的主要信息来源。逻辑回归分析表明，认知功能、感知健康状况和骨关节炎是该样本中抑郁的显著预测因素。
由于老年人倾向于通过参与活动和与他人互动来管理他们的抑郁症状，公立养老院的医疗保健提供者可考虑为居民安排足够的活动和人际接触。鉴于这些养老院医疗保健提供者数量有限，作者建议增加提供者和居民关于抑郁症及自我护理管理策略的知识。
