Prevention of depression in elderly: An introduction to facilitate healthy ageing process

Pages: 1271-1275
Deepak Salvi (Department of Clinical Psychology, Amity Institute of Behavior and Allied Sciences (AIBAS), Amity University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, Rajasthan)

Prevention of mental health problems and promotion of overall well-being in old age is as important as any other stage of life cycle. Ageing in human refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological and social changes. It is usually considered to be closing period of time. Healthy ageing refers to overall well being and positive aspects of health in older age. Substantial increases in the relative and absolute number of older persons in our society pose a challenge to health professionals and policy makers as well. Depression in geriatric population is a significant public health problem in terms of its prevalence, suffering, impairment, morbidity, and economic burden. The growing incidence of mental health issues in elderly has become a primary concern for any country. Depression in older adults is associated with and is closely related to the aging process. Even though depression is the commonest psychiatric disorder in the elderly, it usually goes misdiagnosed and under treated. Due to complexities in the medical treatment of elderly patients, researchers and clinicians have sought psychosocial alternatives to pharmacotherapy in order to treat depression in the elderly patients. Hence this article raises the issue of depression as the commonest mental health issue in geriatric population and provides suggestions and implications for the existing and emerging novel psychosocial approaches to the prevention.