Depression rampant in Canadian nursing homes
May 20, 2010
Joseph Hall
HEALTH REPORTER
More than 40 per cent of nursing home residents in Canada have symptoms or diagnoses of clinical depression, says a massive new study of some 50,000 residents.
Because of age-related ailments, loss of independence and family, or unhappiness with their surroundings, tens of thousands of elderly people have slipped into despondency in homes across the country, a study by the Canadian Institute for Health Information shows.
“A lot of people feel that getting old is depressing enough and getting sick is depressing, and being in a facility can be very depressing,” said Nancy White, CIHI’s manager of home and continuing care development.
“They have complex health problems and it can be very traumatic to move out of your own surroundings,” White said.
Previous studies have suggested a high percentage of nursing home patients were at risk of depression, but the scale of this study shows the staggering scope of the problem, she said.
Yet White stressed that clinical depression is an illness that is not a normal or necessary part of the aging process. What’s more, it is a treatable ailment in most cases and White said her study shows the importance of being vigilant for signs of depression among long-term-care patients.
“It (the study) is really more about looking at the ways that we can identify depression and prevent people from falling through the cracks,” she said.
“It’s really more about helping clinicians and family members and others who come into contact with the elderly . . . look for the signs and know the signs and pick them up early.”
Of the 44 per cent of residents who had signs or a diagnosis of depression, only 17 per cent were being effectively treated.
Some nine per cent had a diagnosis but were still suffering symptoms, while 18 per cent were symptomatic but had not been diagnosed.
That means nursing home staff must be more vigilant in terms of treating and detecting the disease, White said.
Fortunately, a new detection tool, known as the RAI-MDS 2.0 evaluation system, is currently making its way into Canadian nursing homes, she said. The system recruits all people who encounter a resident — from nurses, to family, to cleaning staff – to look for set signs of the disease.
“It sounds like a very sad story, but the good news is this tool is now being used across Canada,” White said, adding it is especially important since many elderly people, raised to be stoic, will not complain of their condition.
Once a resident is diagnosed, effective treatment for depression can run from bringing them into contact with pets to complex pharmacological therapies.
The need to treat is not limited to the psychological well-being of nursing home residents, White added. “People with depression have a greater chance of illness and death and poor outcomes.”
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