PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION IN HOSPITALIZED OLDER ADULTS WHO FEEL ABANDONED IN MEXICO

Abstract

The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of depression in older adult men and women who feel abandoned when hospitalized. Convenience sampling was used to enlist 113 voluntary participants at the Tejupilco General Hospital, regardless of symptoms or the service to which they were admitted. Irrespective of educational level, inclusion criteria for the study were >60 years old and the absence of mental illness. The study design was non-experimental and transactional with the use of the geriatric depression scale (GDS-15) to indicate the presence of depressive symptoms. SPSS statistical package was used to analyse the data obtained. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to present the results of the study. The results obtained show that severe depression was more prevalent among the study’s participants as 22.1 and 13.2% of men and women, respectively, were diagnosed