Knowledge and awareness on depression of hospitalised elderly patients among nurses in HUSM
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Date
2022
Authors
Yuyud, Putri Norfitria Nurulaspy Asep
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
The median prevalence of depressive disorders among older persons from 74 studies
with a total of 487 275 older people was 10.3% worldwide. Depression is among the
most common mental disorders in older people. Nurses are the key practitioners in
health care that provide elderly patients with direct care. Nurses' experience and
attitudes appear to have an impact on their ability to work with older people and the
quality of care they provide. A cross-sectional study was carried out to study the
knowledge and awareness on depression of hospitalised elderly patients among nurses
in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. 239 nurses from Hospital USM who met the
inclusion criteria were recruited. Nurses’ level of knowledge and awareness were
measured by using the Late Life Depression Questionnaire and Pullen Symptom Quiz
developed in previous study with adequate reliability. The questionnaire comprised of
three parts; sociodemographic data, nurses’ level of knowledge, and nurses’ level of
awareness. Higher scores indicate better level of knowledge and awareness. Most of the
respondents were female (87.4%) with the majority in age group between 31 and 40
(51.0%). Among the respondents, 37.7% were nurses who had working experience
between 6 to 12 years, which was the majority. The study reported that the nurses had
poor knowledge (74.9%) regarding depression among elderly patients, while they
scored average (68.2%) for the awareness on early signs of depression among elderly.
Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the relationship between knowledge score
and awareness score. There was a positive significant relationship between the two
variables (r = 0.146; P = 0.024). There is no statistically significant correlation between
working experience and the level of knowledge of nurses in Hospital USM (r = 0.001; P
= 0.988). Nurses’ knowledge and awareness regarding depression and its early signs
among elderly patients were at a poor and average level, respectively. This part can be
improved by introducing depression assessment protocols and well-structured
continuing education programs.
Description
Keywords
depressive disorders