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Registered nurse’s working at elderly care centers experience of depressive symptoms among older people: a qualitative descriptive study
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Care Science (VV). Lovisenberg Diaconal Univ Coll, Dept Nursing Educ, N-0456 Oslo, Norway.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7934-6949
Skane Univ Hosp, Dept Geriatr, SE-22185 Lund, Sweden.
Astorp Primary Care Ctr, Reg Skåne, SE-26534 Astorp, Sweden.
Malmö University, Faculty of Health and Society (HS), Department of Care Science (VV).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3594-3944
2019 (English)In: BMC Nursing, E-ISSN 1472-6955, Vol. 18, article id 43Article in journal (Refereed)
Abstract [en]

Background: Depressive symptoms and/or depression are commonly experienced by older people. Both are underdiagnosed, undertreated and regularly overlooked by healthcare professionals. Healthcare facilities for people aged ≥ 75 years have been in place in Sweden since 2015. The aim of these care centres, which are managed by registered nurses (RNs), is to offer care adjusted to cater to the complex needs and health problems of older people. Although the mental health of older people is prioritised in these centres, research into the experience of RNs of depressive symptoms and/or depression in older people in this setting is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to illuminate RNs, working at care centres for older people, experience of identifying and intervening in cases of depressive symptoms. Methods: The data for this qualitative descriptive study were collected through interviews (n = 10) with RNs working at 10 care centres for older people in southern Sweden. The transcribed texts were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: The participants’ experiences could be understood from four predominant themes: (1) challenging to identify, (2) described interventions, (3) prerequisites for identification, and (4) contextual influences. Key findings were that it was difficult to identify depression as it often manifested as physical symptoms; evidence-based nursing interventions were generally not the first-line treatment used; trust, continuity and the ability of RNs to think laterally; and the context influenced the ability of RNs to manage older people’s depressive symptoms and/or depression. Conclusions: The process of identifying depressive symptoms and performing an appropriate intervention was found to be complex, especially as older people were reluctant to present at the centres and provided obscure reasons for doing so. A nurse-patient relationship that was built on trust and was characterised by continuity of care was identified as a necessary prerequisite. Appropriate nursing interventions—afforded the same status as pharmacological treatment—are warranted as the first-line treatment of depression. Further research is also needed into efficacious nursing interventions targeting depressive symptoms and/or depression.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
BioMed Central, 2019. Vol. 18, article id 43
Keywords [en]
Content analysis, Care centres for older people, Nursing, Qualitative research, Registered nurses
National Category
Medical and Health Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-14667DOI: 10.1186/s12912-019-0368-5ISI: 000484622800001PubMedID: 31516384Local ID: 29860OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mau-14667DiVA, id: diva2:1418188
Available from: 2020-03-30 Created: 2020-03-30 Last updated: 2024-07-04Bibliographically approved

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Borglin, GunillaSjögren Forss, Katarina

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