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The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver

Received: 6 March 2017     Accepted: 28 March 2017     Published: 3 May 2017
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Abstract

The study was done to determine the influence of geriatric depression among the General Outpatient Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) attendees on the family caregiver. It is a well known fact that the illness of any member of the family has tremendous impact on other family members in several ways and for several reasons and could actually change the previously existing family dynamics, which in turn could affect the functioning of its members thereby, impacting (most often negatively) on both the recipients of care and the larger society to which the family belongs. Geriatric depression is a chronic debilitating illness often coexisting with other chronic conditions. The family caregivers are therefore saddled with tremendous responsibilities which are expected to take a toll on them. It is against this background that this study was done. A descriptive cross-sectional study of one hundred and fifty randomly selected elderly patients attending the GOPD was carried out along with their family caregivers who were either spouses or older children. A structured questionnaire containing the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) was administered to the patients that had satisfied the inclusion criteria, and their family caregivers respectively. Data was entered into the computer using the Epi-info version 6.04 software, and analysed. The care of depressed patients took a toll on the family caregivers making them react adversely thereby worsening the condition of the recipients of care. The result of this study suggests that the depressed elderly respondents had a significant negative influence on the family caregivers.

Published in Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience (Volume 1, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14
Page(s) 41-46
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Burden, Geriatrics, Family Caregiver, Depression

References
[1] Marie Y et al. A Dimensional Analysis of Caregiver Burden Among Spouses and Adult Children. The Gerontologist 2010: 51 (3): 321-331. http://gerontologist.oxfordjournals.org
[2] Kevorkian R. Depression in the elderly. Division of Geriatric Medicine, St. Louis School of Medicine. 2005 May (Cited 2007 December 12): (screen 1). Available from: www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/behaviour/depression
[3] Bruce ML. Psychosocial risk factors for depressive disorders in late life. Biol Psychiatry, 2002 (52): 175-184.
[4] Parks S. M, Novielli KD. A practical Guide to Caring for Caregivers. American Family Physician. Dec 2000.
[5] Kraaij V, Arensman E, Spinhoven P. Negative life events and depression in elderly persons. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2002; 57: 87-94.
[6] Heun R, Hein S. Risk factors for major depression in the elderly. European Psychiatry 2005; 20 (3): 199-204.
[7] Akanji, B. O., A. Ogunniyi and O. Baiyewu, 2002. Healthcare for older persons, a country profile: Nigeria. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc., 50: 1289-1292.
[8] Abe, K., T. Kashiwagi and S. Tsuneto, 2003. Coping strategies and its effects on depression among caregivers of impaired elders in Japan. Ageing Ment. Health, 7: 207-211.
[9] Sewitch, M. J., J. McCusker, N. Dendukuri and M. J. Yaffe, 2004. Depression in frail elders: Impact on family caregivers. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry, 19: 655-665.
[10] Martire LM, Schultz R, Reynolds C et al. Impact of Close Family Members on Older Adults’ Early Response to Depression Treatment. Psychology and Aging, 23 (2), Jun 2008, 447-445.
[11] Gazmararian J., Baker D., Parker R. and Blazer D. G., A multivariate analysis of factors associated with depression, Archives of Internal Medicine, 160 (21), 3307-14 (2000).
[12] Coyne J. C. and Schwenk T. L., Diagnosis of late life depression: The View from Primary Care, Biol. Psychiatry 52 (3), 157-163 (2002).
[13] Al-Shammari S. A., Prevalence and correlates of depression among Saudi elderly, Wiley Interscience J; (Abstract) (1999).
[14] Baldwin R. and Wild R., Management of depression in late life, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 10 131-139, (2004).
[15] Kevorkian R., Depression in the elderly, Division of Geriatric Medicine, St. Louis School of Medicine, Available from: www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/articles/behaviour/depression (2005).
[16] Baldwin R. C., Poor prognosis of depression in elderly people: causes and actions, Ann Med, 32 (4), 252-6 (2000).
[17] Sokoya O. O. and Baiyewu O., Geriatric depression in Nigerian Primary care attendees, Int Geriatr Psychiatry, 18, 506-510 (2003).
[18] Tomilson, M., L. Swartz, L. Kruger and O. Gureje, 2007. Manifestations of affective disturbance in sub-Saharan Africa: Key themes. J. Affect. Disorders, 102: 191-198.
[19] Wilson, K., P. Mottram and A. Sixsmith, 2006. Depressive symptoms in the very old living alone: Prevalence, incidence and risk factors. Int. J. Geriatr. Psychiatry, 22: 361-366.
[20] National Population Census, Port Harcourt (2006).
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Onya Obianma Nneka, Stanley Catherine Nonyelum, Stanley Princewill Chukwuemeka. (2017). The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver. Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience, 1(2), 41-46. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14

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    ACS Style

    Onya Obianma Nneka; Stanley Catherine Nonyelum; Stanley Princewill Chukwuemeka. The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver. Clin. Neurol. Neurosci. 2017, 1(2), 41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14

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    AMA Style

    Onya Obianma Nneka, Stanley Catherine Nonyelum, Stanley Princewill Chukwuemeka. The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver. Clin Neurol Neurosci. 2017;1(2):41-46. doi: 10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14,
      author = {Onya Obianma Nneka and Stanley Catherine Nonyelum and Stanley Princewill Chukwuemeka},
      title = {The Burden of Geriatric Depression on the Family Caregiver},
      journal = {Clinical Neurology and Neuroscience},
      volume = {1},
      number = {2},
      pages = {41-46},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cnn.20170102.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cnn.20170102.14},
      abstract = {The study was done to determine the influence of geriatric depression among the General Outpatient Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) attendees on the family caregiver. It is a well known fact that the illness of any member of the family has tremendous impact on other family members in several ways and for several reasons and could actually change the previously existing family dynamics, which in turn could affect the functioning of its members thereby, impacting (most often negatively) on both the recipients of care and the larger society to which the family belongs. Geriatric depression is a chronic debilitating illness often coexisting with other chronic conditions. The family caregivers are therefore saddled with tremendous responsibilities which are expected to take a toll on them. It is against this background that this study was done. A descriptive cross-sectional study of one hundred and fifty randomly selected elderly patients attending the GOPD was carried out along with their family caregivers who were either spouses or older children. A structured questionnaire containing the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) was administered to the patients that had satisfied the inclusion criteria, and their family caregivers respectively. Data was entered into the computer using the Epi-info version 6.04 software, and analysed. The care of depressed patients took a toll on the family caregivers making them react adversely thereby worsening the condition of the recipients of care. The result of this study suggests that the depressed elderly respondents had a significant negative influence on the family caregivers.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    AB  - The study was done to determine the influence of geriatric depression among the General Outpatient Department of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) attendees on the family caregiver. It is a well known fact that the illness of any member of the family has tremendous impact on other family members in several ways and for several reasons and could actually change the previously existing family dynamics, which in turn could affect the functioning of its members thereby, impacting (most often negatively) on both the recipients of care and the larger society to which the family belongs. Geriatric depression is a chronic debilitating illness often coexisting with other chronic conditions. The family caregivers are therefore saddled with tremendous responsibilities which are expected to take a toll on them. It is against this background that this study was done. A descriptive cross-sectional study of one hundred and fifty randomly selected elderly patients attending the GOPD was carried out along with their family caregivers who were either spouses or older children. A structured questionnaire containing the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale (ZCBS) was administered to the patients that had satisfied the inclusion criteria, and their family caregivers respectively. Data was entered into the computer using the Epi-info version 6.04 software, and analysed. The care of depressed patients took a toll on the family caregivers making them react adversely thereby worsening the condition of the recipients of care. The result of this study suggests that the depressed elderly respondents had a significant negative influence on the family caregivers.
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Author Information
  • Dept. of Family Medicine, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Dept. of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Dept. of Neuropsychiatry, University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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