Up to 30% of nursing home residents have mild or severe depression. While depressive disorders in old age can be improved and even cured with appropriate therapy, they often go unnoticed by nursing home residents and go untreated. Nursing home residents may be at risk of developing depression or their current mental health problems getting worse. Research has shown that approximately half of older people living in long-term care homes may be diagnosed with depression or show symptoms of depression.
The search equation found 536 and 1447 studies that explored depression and dementia, respectively, and their related health complications in long-term care facilities or nursing homes. Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among older adults, and depressed nursing home residents are at a particularly high risk of diminishing quality of life. Staff should be aware of the prevalence of depression in nursing homes and have a variety of interventions. Depression is a widespread psychiatric disorder in nursing homes; it has a negative impact on quality of life and affects more than a fifth of nursing home residents.
While there are many predictors of depression that are a normal part of aging, keep in mind that depression in nursing home residents is also a warning sign of abuse, especially physical, emotional and sexual. They may not be able to leave the nursing home to visit their children, grandchildren, or friends as much as they would like. Nursing homes that don't prioritize appropriate mental health interventions don't offer adequate standards of care. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of clinical diagnosis without the assistance of treating physicians and the medical treatment situation in nursing home residents.
When nursing home residents feel that they have control over their activities, this has a positive influence on their health and well-being. Depression in nursing homes seems to be a vicious cycle: a person with pre-existing depression (or people who are at risk of having mental health problems) moves to a nursing home where they receive a low level of care, aggravating their mental and emotional symptoms. The complex support and care requirements of depressed older adults in nursing homes demand the development and implementation of innovative clinical and organizational models that can ensure the early identification of the disorder and high-quality multidisciplinary services to treat it. The Nursing Home Abuse Center (NHAC) was founded to bring justice to people affected by nursing home and nursing home abuse.
