262934 Depression in the Elderly: Attitudes of Seniors and Practices of Health Care Providers

Monday, October 29, 2012

Jacob Azurdia , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Jocelyn Hu , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Elisabeth Kispert , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Autumn Polidor , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Matthew Saia , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Richard Tan , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Matthew Thomas , University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Molly Dugan , Cathedral Square Corporation, South Burlington, VT
Patricia Berry, MPH , Vchip, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Thomas V. Delaney, PhD , Dept. of Pediatrics, UVM College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Jan K. Carney, MD MPH , Department of Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
Introduction: Support And Services at Home (SASH) is housing with senior services developed by Cathedral Square Corporation in Burlington, Vermont. Depression in the elderly is often undiagnosed or undertreated. Our goal was to investigate depression from perspectives of seniors and local primary care providers.

Methods: An anonymous 15-item participant survey was distributed in one of three SASH residences to assess how comfortable residents are speaking to their physician about depression, their support system, and barriers for seeking help. Secondly, an anonymous 16-item questionnaire was emailed to local healthcare providers (HCP) to assess their screening practices and treatment for depression in seniors.

Results: Response rate for the healthcare provider survey was 22.9% (49/214); 47% use no standardized testing procedure in their evaluation of depression; 70% follow-up with patients referred for mental health treatments “often” or “always”. Finally, 72% of HCP's consider patient limitations either “often” or “always” when selecting a referral organization for elderly patients. Response rate for the senior residents' survey was 49.8% (123/247). 89.4% agreed with “If I felt depressed, I would bring up these feelings with my healthcare provider.” 83.7% would turn to their support system if feeling depressed; 82.9% would turn to their HCP; 40.7% a private counselor/psychiatrist, and 17.9% other community health agencies.

Conclusion: Barriers preventing seniors from seeking help included stigma, isolation, and time limitations at appointments. Further, there is discrepancy between the treatment modalities that physicians prefer and those available within the community. Results can be used to improve health services for seniors.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Provision of health care to the public

Learning Objectives:
1.Explain gaps in perspectives about depression between elders and primary care providers 2. Compare ideal treatment for depression with actual community resources 3. Identify differences in recommended and actual screening practices for depression among primary care providers 3. Describe barriers experienced by seniors in accessing services and seeking support for depression

Keywords: Aging, Depression

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I participated in the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, writing, and presentation of this project.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3391.0: Poster Session - Social Determinants of Health