The Effectiveness of Geriatric Physiotherapy (GPT) Intervention on the Depression of Institutionalized Elderly

Depression, otherwise known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression is a common and serious mood disorder.  WHO defines depression as ‘Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness and poor concentration’.  Depression is seen both in elderly and in every age group in equal extent.

World Health Day 2017 has been focused on depression.  According to World Health Organization, in all countries the second highest cause of disability after heart disease will be major depression in 2020, and it is estimated that 322 million people are in depression and half of them are in South East Asia and Western Pacific region including 56 million Indians.  Depression among elderly is transcendent directly because of conflicts within the family.  Many studies state that depression prevalence is higher in institutionalized older people than community dwelling elderly people.  Elderly people’s personal autonomy, independence, self-determination and privacy are highly compromised at home, which in turn affects psychosocial status and brings about dissatisfaction both physically and mentally.  According to WHO (2006), all the people, around the world and in all cultures, are affected by depression.  About 85% are not properly diagnosed and so diagnosing depression in elderly is a challenging task.  As other diseases, depression also can be treated if it is diagnosed in proper time.  So, the early identification plays a vital role in treatment of the disease.  Screening helps in identifying depression, and the most common screening for elderly includes General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS).

This study observes the significance of Geriatric Physiotherapy (GPT) in general mental health as resulting variable of depression among institutionalized elderly people.  Geriatric Physiotherapy (GPT) is an intervention considered to enhance the physical and general mental health of elderly people.