Geriatric depression scale score of elderly who lost their spouses in public and private elderly nursing home in Palembang

Abstract

Depression is the most common mental disorder in the elderly, especially elderly that has lost their spouses. Elderly nursing home, public or private, is one of the alternatives residences for elderly who lost their spouses. The difference of residential has been reported as the independent predictor factor of depression in elderly. Therefore, screening of depression using Geriatric. Depression Scale (GDS) is extremely needed. The aim of this study was to determine the difference of may GDS score between elderly who lost their spouses in public and private elderly nursing home in Palembang. This was a cross-sectional is a study done in November 2015. The sample was 34 elderly who have lost their spouses at Panti Social Tresna Werdha Teratai (public) and Panti Werdha Dharma Bakti (private). Data collection consists of subjects' characteristics and Geriatric Depression Scale Score, defined by interview. The data was analyzed using Chi-Square or Fisher's Exact Test. The depression incident of elderly who lost their spouses in a private nursing home was greater than in public nursing home (8,3% vs 0%). The GDS score showed a significant difference between private and public nursing home with p = 0,04, OR 6,429.