Depression, Self-Care Behavior, and Related Factors in Type 2 Diabetic Elderly

• Main Authors: Yu-Ling Bai, 白玉玲
• Other Authors: Chou-Ping Chiou
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2005
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/10813686063359317794

碩士 === 輔英科技大學 === 護理系碩士班 === 93 === Objectives: This study investigates depression, self-care behavior, and related factors in type 2 diabetic elderly, and explores the predictors of depression and self-care behavior. Methods: One hundred sixty-five subjects, older than 65 years of age, were selected from the diabetic outpatients of three hospitals in Kaohsiung. They were given structured questionnaires in the descriptive correlational design and purposive sampling method. The research instruments administered were as follows: a demographic sheet, the Personal Resource Questionnaire 2000(PRQ 2000), Diabetes Self-Care Scale, and Taiwan Geriatric Depression Scale (TGDS). Results: (1) The index score of the self-care behavior was 73, meaning of medium status; the index score of depression was 25, meaning lower extent of depression, and the index score of social support was 77, meaning the degree of mid-higher. (2) Men had better self-care behavior scores than women did. Cases of high school graduates and college graduates had better self-care scores than cases of the illiterate; college graduates had better scores than elementary school graduates. Those with an income of 20 thousand to 50 thousand per month had higher scores than those with lower income under one thousand. Non-religionists got higher scores than religionists did. (3) There were significant differences in scores of TGDS by gender, duration of diabetes, type of treatment, and diabetes complications. (4) Social support was significantly correlated to self-care behavior in a positive way. (5) Both social support and regular exercise had significantly negative correlation with depression. (6) Social support, education and duration of diabetes were important predictors of self-care behavior, accounting for 35.6% of the total variance. (7) Both social support and diabetes complications were important predictors of depression for the diabetic elderly, and also accounted for 25.9% of variance of depression. Conclusions and suggestions: The study results may help nurses understand more about depression, self-care behavior, and related factors of the diabetic elderly. Therefore, this study could be a basis of the nursery-care for the diabetic elderly, as well as provide references for further researches. The suggestion is that depression and self-care behavior of the diabetic elderly living alone or with other chronic diseases are worthy of further exploration.