Writing Assignment NURS 6540 PICO Analysis of Depression

PICO ANALYSIS OF DEPRESSION
By:
Institutional Affiliation:
PICO Analysis of Depression
Part I: PICO Analysis of Research Topic
Depression is a medical condition that remains less prevalent among older adults as compared to younger adults but have serious implications. Close to half of the cases give a clear representation of the first onset in a latter life. In as much as suicide rates among the elderly is slowly declining, this population sample remains at higher risk of suffering from depression as compared to the younger adults. In view of this, it is significant to note that depressed older adults are less likely to undergo affective symptoms and are in a position to display somatic symptoms, cognitive changes, and the loss of interest compared to the younger adults (David et al, 2012). In regards to this, the rates of depression are considerable higher in nursing homes and in most cases these conditions go untreated.
The lifestyles of older adults may significantly differ from that of adults in their younger stages of life. For instance, the older adults are prone to experience instances of loneliness and experience harmful falls and the fear of falling. On the other hand, the older adults are less expectant in finding their purpose in life as they grow older, thus they are likely to stop seeking for new sources of purpose. In this regard, it is essential to consider that the lack of purpose has some correlations with the feelings of hopelessness, an aspect that point out to the symptoms of depression (David et al, 2012). Major depression therefore affects close to 1 to 4% of the older population. However, major depression is considered as a disease that mostly affects the elderly population living in nursing homes as opposed to those living in their own homes.
Estimates of 20.3% of the elderly population living in nursing homes are therefore affected by major depression. This rate is therefore likely to grow higher in a case where subsyndromal depression is considered. Subsyndromal depression in this case indicates the presence of depressive symptoms in as much as the symptoms are not perceived as severe to be considered as major or minor (Alexopoulos, 2015). In as much as the rates of the older population suffering from depression is high, this disease remains under-recognized in nursing homes, thus leaving most of the older adults untreated. This study will therefore focus on behavioral activity therapy as an approach aimed at managing depression among the elderly patients in nursing homes.
P: Elderly Patients with Depression
I: Behavioral Activity Therapy
C: Theelderly Patients with depression in nursing home residents as opposed to those living in their own homes
O: Improve Behavioral Outcomes
Part II: Search Strategy
Step 1: Research Tools
Electronic Databases

Books, Encyclopedias, Handbooks

PsycINFO

The Journal of Gerontology

MedLine

The Gerontologist

AgeLine

Aging and Mental Health

Step 2: Identify Search Terms and Criteria.
Keywords and Phrases

Results

Inclusion Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

Depression
Treatment

65 results

“And” for all included subjects, full-text, scholarly peer-reviewed journals

Articles older than 2010, population younger than 65

Aging

PsycINFO Review with 295 results

“OR”, Articles from 2011-2016, peer-reviewed, full-text articles

Articles before 2011

Nursing Home

28 results

“And” for inclusion of all subjects, peer-reviewed, full-text

Articles older than 2010

Behavioral Activity Therapy

6 results

Used the word “and” for inclusion of all subjects, Peer-review journal only with full-text

Articles older than 2010 were excluded from search

Step 3: Boolean Search
Depression, as established in this paper is a medical condition that remains less prevalent among older adults as compared to younger adults but have serious implications. Close to half of the cases give a clear representation of the first onset in a latter life. As established in this study, it is evident that there are several theories developed with the primary motive of combating depression without the use of medication. According to Alexopoulos (2015), the receipt of relaxation techniques, instruction on body-mind relaxation, problem solving, cognitive restructuring, behavioral management of insomnia, nutrition, and exercise are considered as methods driven towards reducing the symptoms of depression. However, an effective approach of combating depression among the elderly population is considered as the behavioral activity therapy. This therapeutic approach is considered as effective in reducing depressive symptoms among adults, an aspect that denotes the need of implementing pleasant events in the nursing home. Given this, there is a need to assess several events that may be pleasing to the elderly population, followed by the implementation of these activities, an aspect that is primarily based on the theory of positive reinforcement for the elderly populations in nursing institutions. This therapy and intervention has several positive effects on the management and treatment of depression symptoms among the elderly populations in nursing homes.
Part III: Analysis of Literature
Step 1: Summary of Five Articles
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