Avaliação da prevalência de depressão em idosos e as estratégias intervencionais da enfermagem.

Abstract

In our times the process of aging has been widely discussed because the accelerated growth of the elderly population in the world, especially in Brazil. There are various changes undergone by the body, in the biological, psychological and spiritual dimensions, predisposing them to illness, including depression. Accordingly, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of depressive disorders in the city of Jaçanã – RN elderly. It’s about descriptive observational study, with quantitative design, conducted with 63 elderly registered in two Basic Family Health Units of the urban area of Jaçanã – RN. After approval of the research ethics committee of the University Hospital Lauro Wanderley/UFPB an opinion nº 927.419, the data collection was performed using a questionnaire with demographic and socioeconomic data and the Geriatric Depression Scale in its reduced version (GDS-15). The results were statistically analyzed, being the chi-square test was used to assess the association between categorical variables. The results show that most seniors have age between 70 and 79 years old (average 72,08 years old), is female, illiterate, married and with a family income 1 and 2 minimum wages, from retirements. According to the GDS, considering the score greater than 5 as indicative of depression, it was found that 46.6% of the elderly have depressive symptoms and that this is independent of socioeconomic and demographic variables. However, there was an association of depressive symptoms with health perception described as bad (p= 0,005) and medication use (p= 0,039). Moreover, it is necessary for primary care professionals, especially nursing, in partnership with the municipal management, develop strategies aimed at preventing depression, as well as early diagnosis and effective treatment, thus preserving the well-being and quality of life of the elderly population.