When people experience
aging, their need for care and
institutionalization rises. Sending
Parents to
elderly or
nursing homes has been prevalent in western countries while not a standard practice in Eastern
communities. The present study based on a
cross-sectional study design aspired to compare the
depression in
elderly institutional residents and
elderly home residents. A purposive sample of 150
elderly were assessed for
depression by using the Beck
Depression Inventory-II. The results indicated that the level of
depression was significantly higher in institutionalized
elderly compared to the
elderly living in their homes with
families. Further,
elderly females reported higher
depression in comparison to
elderly male respondents. Moreover, findings indicate that the institutionalized
elderly had moderate to severe levels of
depression and that the
elderly home residents had no to a mild
mood disturbance. The
elderly may feel more psychological
health living with
families. The study concludes that
elderly individuals living in institutional homes were much more suffering from
depression as compared to
elderly individuals living at home with
families. The concerned authorities should devise
strategies to enhance the
mental health and
quality of life of the
elderly which may contribute to reduce the
prevalence of
depression (AU)