IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i23p12438-d688460.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Geriatric Depression and Inappropriate Medication: Benefits of Interprofessional Team Cooperation in Nursing Homes

Author

Listed:
  • Hana Vankova

    (Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 10000 Praha, Czech Republic)

  • Iva Holmerova

    (Faculty of Humanities, CELLO-ILC-CZ, Charles University, 18200 Praha, Czech Republic)

  • Ladislav Volicer

    (Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, 10000 Praha, Czech Republic
    School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 34639, USA)

Abstract

An investigation of inappropriate medication use in treatment of depressivity in institutionalized older adults, based on a nurse-led evaluation of functional status and depressive symptoms in nursing home residents. Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter study was performed using records from 1087 residents cared for in fifteen nursing homes (NHs) in the Czech Republic. Inclusion criteria were being a permanent resident of one of the facilities, being 60 years of age or older, having a Geriatric Depression Scale score of 6 or more, and having a Mini Mental State examination score 10 or more. The final sample for analysis included 317 depressed NH residents. Results: 52 percent of NH residents with depressivity had no antidepressant treatment. Benzodiazepines were the only medication in 16 percent of depressed residents, and were added to antidepressant treatment in 18 percent of residents. Benzodiazepine users had significantly higher GDS scores compared to non-users ( p = 0.007). Conclusion: More than half of depressed NH residents remained without antidepressant treatment. Residents inappropriately treated with benzodiazepines were more depressed than residents treated with antidepressants only, or even not treated at all. Cooperation of the interprofessional team in the screening of depressive symptoms has the potential to improve the quality of care.

Suggested Citation

  • Hana Vankova & Iva Holmerova & Ladislav Volicer, 2021. "Geriatric Depression and Inappropriate Medication: Benefits of Interprofessional Team Cooperation in Nursing Homes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12438-:d:688460
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12438/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/23/12438/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Páll Biering, 2019. "Helpful approaches to older people experiencing mental health problems: a critical review of models of mental health care," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 215-225, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:23:p:12438-:d:688460. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.