Remote Support of Elderly Women Participating in Mental Health Promotion Programme during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Single-Group Longitudinal Intervention.

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to evaluate the longitudinal changes in mental well-being during the switch of the intervention from a personal contact to a remotely delivered Mental Health Prevention and Promotion Programme in elderly women at high risk of developing depression. The study included 70 women aged over 60 with a mean age of 72.28 years. In order to determine mental well-being, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used at four time points January, April, September and December 2020. A self-developed questionnaire was used to determine predictors of mental well-being. Two-way ANOVA demonstrated a lack of significant differences between the means in the GDS scores at the four data collection time points (p = 0.21). Frequent use of green areas reduced the GDS score on average by 1.52 points (p = 0.01), while owning a garden by 1.51 points (p = 0.04). The illness of a family member increased the GDS score by an average of 1.7 points (p = 0.02). No significant mood deterioration was found between January 2020 and December 2020 in the studied group of elderly women at a high risk of developing depression, which suggests that the remote support provided in the mental health promotion programme was effective.