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Postcard intervention for depression in community-dwelling older adults: A randomised controlled trial
- Source :
- Psychiatry Research. 229:545-550
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Depression in older adults erodes their health, quality of life and the economy. Existing interventions are not feasible for broad application at the community. Postcard intervention only requires a few resources, and previous studies have shown its effectiveness for patients following drug overdose, self-harm and hospitalisation for major depression. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a postcard intervention. Participants were community-dwelling individuals, aged 65 or older, who eat meals alone and with the score of 4 or higher on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15). We enrolled 184 eligible participants, with 93 in the intervention and 91 in the control arm. Postcards were sent to participants once a month for eight months. Primary outcome was the GDS-15 score at post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were quality of life and activities of daily living. There was no significant difference in primary and secondary outcomes between completers of the intervention and the control arm. However, most of the participants who received intervention thought the intervention was effective. The postcard intervention for depression in community-dwelling elderly people in Japan is neither feasible nor effective. However, the descriptive results suggest that the intervention may be effective given different parameters.
- Subjects :
- Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Activities of daily living
Psychological intervention
Poison control
Suicide prevention
law.invention
Japan
Quality of life
Randomized controlled trial
law
Early Medical Intervention
Intervention (counseling)
Activities of Daily Living
medicine
Humans
Postal Service
Biological Psychiatry
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Depression
business.industry
Psychiatry and Mental health
Quality of Life
Physical therapy
Female
Geriatric Depression Scale
Independent Living
business
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 01651781
- Volume :
- 229
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Psychiatry Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....8a52cba154be3a464b5627d48d43330a