Associations of physical activity and depression symptoms among elderly people living alone of Taipei Wanhua District

• Main Authors: Lin, Chen-Yu, 林珍玉
• Other Authors: Hu, Yi-Jin
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/bb7z93

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 健康促進與衛生教育學系 === 105 === The study looked at the physical activity and depression symptoms of elderly people living alone in Wanhua District, Taipei City to further analyze the interrelationship among socio-demographic characteristics, physical activity, and depression symptoms. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on elderly people living alone by the Wanhua District Health Center in March 2016, and data were collected through a one-on-one interview and a questionnaire. In all, 206 copies of the questionnaire were distributed and 165 copies were received for a retrieval rate of 80.1%. Results of the study can be summarized as follows: 1.The study found significant differences in the amounts of physical activity of elderly people living alone with respect to their ages, time living alone, major sources of income, health condition, and number of illness. Elderly people living alone who were older, living alone longer, recipients of financial assistance from the government and suffering from one or more chronic conditions showed lower amounts of physical activity. 2.The study found significant differences in the depression symptoms of elderly people living alone with respect to their ages, time living alone, major sources of income, health condition, and number of illness. Elderly people living alone who were older, living alone longer, recipients of financial assistance from the government and suffering from one or more chronic conditions showed greater depression symptoms. 3.There were significant differences in the depression symptoms of elderly people living alone undertaking varying amounts of physical activity. The average depression score for those doing a high amount of physical activity was 0.94, which was lower than the score of 2.08 for those doing just an adequate amount of physical activity and the score of 7 for those doing an insufficient amount of physical activity, demonstrating that the higher the amount of physical activity, the lower was the depression symptoms. 4.Depression tendencies of elderly people living alone could be predicted through socio-demographic characteristics, such as female gender, being married, government subsidies being the sources of income, the number of illness, and the amount of physical activity. The variance in predicting depression tendency was 39.9%, among them, “the amount of physical activity” was the best predictor of depression symptoms. It is suggested from the results that related government units should start out with the policy aspect, actively providing opportunities for participation in leisure activities as well as mental health-related education and consultation channels. Moreover, through daily exercise, elderly people living alone can increase their physical activity for health promotion.