Abstract
Objective: To explore the factors that associated with depressive symptoms among the elderly living alone in a village of 921 earthquake disaster area. Materials and Methods: A descriptive correlation design was used. Subjects were recruited from elderly who were over 65 years old and lived alone in the village. Home visits were used to collect data. Results: A total of 65 people participated in this study. Among them, 46.2% was male. Their average age was 73.92 (SD=5.84). The average score of depression was 15.03 (SD=8.12) and the depression rate was 40%. Among them, 16.9% had mild, 16.9% had moderate and 6.2% had severe depressive symptoms. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used. Results indicated that demographic data, health condition and social support accounted for 38.0% of the variance in depressive symptoms. Only "income meets living expenses" and "arthritis" were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Results of this study can offer healthcare providers further information about depressive symptoms and its associated factors among the elderly living alone in the 921 earthquake disaster area.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 169-175 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Tzu Chi Medical Journal |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 2001 |
Keywords
- 921 earthquake disaster area
- Depressive symptoms
- Elders living alone