Recognising depression in residential facilities: an Australian challenge

Area of Science:

• Geriatric psychiatry
• Clinical psychology
• Aged care research

Background:

• Depression is frequently under-recognized and undertreated in aged care facilities (ACFs).
• Depression screening tools can help estimate prevalence and identify affected individuals.
• Observer-rated and self-rated scales are valuable for this purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the prevalence of depression among residents in aged care facilities.
• To evaluate the utility of the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) and the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) in this population.
• To identify factors associated with depression in aged care residents.

Main Methods:

• A survey form and the CSDD were administered by direct care staff to residents in 168 ACFs.
• The GDS-15 was administered to residents without severe cognitive impairment.
• A subset of residents received clinical assessment and diagnosis by a psychiatrist in seven facilities.

Main Results:

• Depression was identified in 34.7% of residents using the CSDD (40.5% in high care, 25.4% in low care).
• The GDS-15 indicated depression in 41.1% of 1,250 tested residents.
• A moderate correlation (0.6) was found between CSDD and GDS-15 scores. Grief over loss of abilities and participation was strongly associated with depression.

Conclusions:

• The CSDD and GDS-15 are effective tools for identifying depression in aged care residents.
• Survey questions highlighted key factors contributing to depression, such as grief.
• These findings support the development of targeted intervention strategies for depression in ACFs.