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Depression Among Homebound Older Adults

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Introduction

According to the U.S. census bureau older adults are an important and rapidly growing segment of the United States’ population. There are about 40 million older adults aged 65 and older residing in Unites States and it is projected to be more than double by 2050(Population Reference Bureau, 2015). This projection is due to advancement in health care facilities and better education (Population Reference Bureau, 2015). As people age they face various physical, psychological and social roles changes which affects their quality of life.

More specifically, the transitions associated with later life like retirement, medical problems, death of a loved ones, reduced social networks leads to depression in aging population (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009). It is seen that depression is one of the most common mental disorder among adults aged 65 and older (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009).Depression is associated with anxiety and suffering that can lead to physical, mental, and social impairments. The presence of depressive disorders often negatively impact the course and complicates the treatment of other chronic diseases too (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2009).According to National Alliance of Mental Illness there are more than two million of the 40 million Americans age 65 and older who suffer from some form of depression (National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), 2009).

Additionally, in the epidemiological and other community-based studies it was found that older adults who are homebound due to multiple chronic illness and disability suffered from depressive symptoms more than those who are able to walk around without assistive device (Choi,Sire & Bruce,2013).Homebound older adults are...

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...erapy for late life Depression. Society of biological psychiatry, 52: 293-303.

Forsman, A.K., & Nordmyr, J. (2011). Psychosocial interventions for the promotion of mental health and the prevention of depression among older adults. Health promotion international, Vol.26 No.SI

Ayalon, L., Fialova, D., Arean, P.A. et al. (2010). Challenges associated with the recognition and treatment of depression in older recipients of home care services. International Psychogeriatric, 22:4, 514-522

Duckworth.(2009).MentalIllness.Retrievedfrom: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7515

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (2009). The State of Mental Health and Aging in America. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/aging/pdf/mental_health_brief_2.pdf
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