Discussion: Defining the Gap

For this Discussion, you will identify and explain a gap in the research literature about your topic/problem.

To Prepare

• Review the Learning Resource, “Defining a Gap in the Literature: On Proving the Presence of an Absence.”
• Think about the main themes identified in your literature review.

Post a brief summary of the main findings of your literature review. Identify the gap in the literature that your Capstone project will help to address.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Walden University Writing Center. (2014, July 8). Defining a gap in the literature: On proving the presence of an absence. Walden University. http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2014/07/de…

LITERATURE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT:

Introduction

Many people encounter mental health illness that affects their daily life. Depression is a mental health illness that is caused by aspects such as gender, age, conflict, death, and abuse. Additionally, stress and loneliness contribute largely to depression cases, especially among the elderly. Covid-19 is a disease caused by a new coronavirus strain. This pandemic has highly affected individual’s lives and their economic and social aspects. Covid-19 has a significant impact on public mental health, leading to psychological disorders such as depression. Mental health crisis worries arose among the elderly due to the scale and degree of the epidemic. Sadly, the rates of depression during the covid-19 pandemic increased due to the loss of family members, friends, relatives, and high medical expenses. Additionally, the government implemented severe restrictions among the older adults where contact with friends and family was limited. The elderly are susceptible to depression cases due to Covid-19, where they encounter severe complications, higher mortality, and expertise adaption issues such as telemedicine and interruptions of their daily customs.

Synthesis

Depression is an illness that affects one’s psychosocial well-being and contributes highly to poor mental health status. Covid-19 is a threat to the elderly due to their aging and low cognitive functional ability. The self-isolation aspect makes the elderly feel neglected, thus losing the purpose of life. Sadly, the elderly from poor households have suffered high depression cases due to insufficient financial support. However, poverty is a significant aspect that affects the elderly since most do not benefit from the pension, thus leading to depression. The elderly are highly vulnerable to depression which affects their psychosocial welfare. Covid 19 puts the older adults in high-risk issues during the pandemic, leading to poor sleep quality, deteriorated activity, and poor cognitive operation, hence low mental health status.

Several researchers have proven the fact that depression affects the psychosocial well-being of older adults. According to Padayachey et al. (2017), the elderly encounter mood disorders that interfere with their cognitive acts. Likewise, the elderly face loneliness due to the loss of their partners and restricted visits from their family members. The ruling out of the elderly as vulnerable to the virus and implementing restrictions has contributed to their poor psychosocial welfare (De Pue et al., (2021). This measure has made the elderly liable to mental illnesses, thus interfering with their psychosocial interest. However, covid-19 interferes with the mental and psychosocial welfare of the elderly.

Markedly, Sepúlveda-Loyola et al. (2020) outlined other factors that affect the psychosocial well-being of the elderly. According to the research, older adults are forced into self-isolation where they face visit restrictions from their family members. Some older adults are placed in the assisted living facilities and nursing homes, thus increasing their loneliness and negligence feelings. Sadly, the elderly are forced into these facilities, making them feel unwanted by society and family members. Self-isolation increases their loneliness, becoming more vulnerable to depression (Park & Zarate, 2019). Likewise, socially isolated individuals lack friends, family members, and relatives, thus feeling lonely and depressed.

The environment affects their mental health status leading to lack of sleep, anxiety, and insufficient physical activity. However, the surrounding of the isolation facility causes low self-esteem and anxiety cases among the elderly. The decrease in sleep quality increases the depression risks as the older adults will be more prone to stress. The self-isolation aspect affects the elderly, where they become less active, thus affecting their mental health status. Likewise, it contributes highly to low emotional interaction and support aspects. Van et al. (2020) verified further that social solitude is among the primary causes of depression among the elderly. The separation from their loved ones affects their mental health, causing challenges in coping with the pandemic effects.

Covid-19 has augmented the depression rates among older adults, thus increasing fear and uncertainty of the future. The deaths of loved ones such as family members make the elderly lose hope. Likewise, the high death rates among the elderly cause the rest to suffer from mental health issues (Semo & Frissa, 2020). The fear surges stress cases among the elderly, thus affecting their mental wellness causing depression. Further, it develops into post-traumatic stress that leads to depression issues. Additionally, the containment measures increase fear among the elderly resulting in depression cases. For instance, Sub-Saharan Africa was highly affected by the covid-19 since they had weak health care systems. The covid-19 pandemic upsurges depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, and anxiety. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the mental health care services uptake is low, thus causing the communities to encounter challenges. The spread of covid-19 affected the elderly, leading to depression cases and fear of their future.

Markedly, depression among older adults affects their drive for life, making them feel useless to society. The high level of loneliness among older adults has contributed highly to their life status. The loneliness and negligence aspect has caused the elderly to acquire post-traumatic stress leading to depression issues. Additionally, the self-isolation and restraint measures have made the elderly more susceptible to depression cases. The isolation contributes highly to low personal growth since the environment is unfit for the elderly as they engage less in physical activities. Additionally, social isolation increases the risks of premature death among the elderly. Social isolation among older adults is a severe public health issue due to their mental health issues, neurocognitive, and cardiovascular risks. The rate of depression rises highly in older adults who lack close family or friends and depend on voluntary facilities upkeep.

The isolation aspects impact additional consequences that lead to high suicide cases among older adults. Isolation affects one’s mindset leading to poor mental health due to loneliness. Thus, isolating the elderly is a significant contributor to depression, making some commit suicide. Likewise, it impacts many fear and thoughts of negligence from their loved ones (López et al., 2020). Isolation restricts the older adults’ desire for personal growth and life purpose, making them feel not valuable to society.

Poverty is an enormous challenge that is affecting the World. Roughly 800 million people in the World are suffering in poverty. Sadly, approximately 11% of the World’s population is living in extreme poverty. The statistics of the older adults living in poverty is higher compared to the other age groups. Individuals aged 75 to 79 years have a poverty rate of approximately 9.2%, with 7.4% among people aged 70 to 74 (Vahia et al., 2020). Additionally, for individuals aged 65 to 69 years, roughly 8.4% are living in poverty. Poverty contributes highly to the depression rates among the elderly due to a lack of a sound support system. Deprivation increases stress among the elderly, thus leading to depression cases.

According to Vahia et al. (2020), the elderly from poor households have higher levels of depression. Poverty is highly affecting older adults since they lack sufficient support systems. However, some older adults do not acquire the retirement pension that helps them to cater for their financial aids. Additionally, some family members, friends, and relatives abandon the older adults, resulting in loneliness that cultivates stress. Stress and poverty affect the elderly mental health status leading them to depression. However, the quality of life for older adults depreciated promptly due to the covid-19 pandemic Kivi et al., (2021). The pandemic affected the welfare of individuals leading to loss of jobs and an increase in poverty cases. The low-income families are highly affected since the pandemic interfered with their source of living. The high poverty rates among the elderly have made them more susceptible to poor intellectual aptitude and depression rates.

The perception of aging has affected the welfare of older adults, making them vulnerable to depression. According to Losada-Baltar et al. (2021), the high death rates during the pandemic among the elderly have caused poor aging perceptions to society. Age is a risk factor for the covid-19 pandemic as families are facing a very stressful time. The negative self-perception of aging is related to loneliness and distress caused by the pandemic crisis. The negative perception of aging has been high among the elderly due to the high death rates within their age group. The high death rates cause the elderly to feel unwanted in society. Additionally, it impacts a negative perception of aging within the community, making the elderly more vulnerable to depression. This perception significantly affects social isolation cases, leading to loneliness and the desire to commit suicide among the elderly.

Markedly, the negative perception of aging is highly affected by the high exposure to covid-19 news and lower contact with relatives. Less positive emotions and insufficient self-entertainment resources have affected society leading to poor perception about a particular age group. Additionally, lower sleep quality and higher loneliness are linked with higher distress that is affecting the elderly. The negative perception of aging among older adults has been contributed by society’s view about them, thus affecting their mental health status. These perceptions interfere with the coping strategies the elderly can implement to address depression during this pandemic. The rate of depression cases among older adults has been an issue, thus affecting the society’s perspective leading to isolation and negligence of the elderly.

Although the covid-19 pandemic has been a threat to the elderly leading to depression, this issue can be controlled by implementing essential coping mechanisms. Many older adults lack significant material, social, cognitive, or biological resources to address covid-19 stress. These issues include lack of intelligent technology access, social interaction, and inability to engage in physical exercise. Technology plays a remarkable role in maintaining social connections and acquiring mental health services. Thus, social media is an excellent platform to impart mental health education and communication resources. Implementing crucial coping techniques will assist the elderly, thus ensuring equity and efficiency. Sub-Saharan Africa implemented coping strategies and safeguarded social and cultural resilience aspects, thus curbing depression cases among the elderly.

Mass media is a virtual platform that offers crucial social resources. According to Lee et al. (2020), factors such as social distancing and quarantine measures contribute highly to vulnerability rates of the elderly acquiring depression during the pandemic. Thus, the implementation of essential aspects such as using social media can help address this challenge. This technique can be done by training the community health workers to offer mental health education, screening, and counseling services. Implementation of social media and tool-free mental health helplines can help the elderly to acquire emotional support. This support will reduce the rate of loneliness and anxiety, thus decrease in depression during the pandemic.

Markedly, another essential coping technique includes the implementation of home care services to assist the elderly. Most elderly are transferred to the assisted living facilities and nursing homes that make them feel lonely and neglected by their family members. The environment worsens their situation as they face depression cases due to lack of sleep and physical inactivity (Lee et al., 2020). Thus, this situation can be addressed by offering home care services to the elderly. This technique will enable the elderly to feel loved and appreciated by their family members. Likewise, the environment will allow them to acquire mental health and psychosocial support services, thus reducing the depression rates.

Implementation of communication perspectives with close friends, relatives, and family members is essential in addressing depression among the elderly. Zhou et al. (2021) revealed the importance of this communication since it assists the elderly to feel loved and easily cope with the pandemic effects. The frequent communication services between family members, friends, and the elderly aids in minimizing loneliness and vulnerability to depression. Additionally, the early recognition of covid-19 will aid decrease depression rigorousness among the elderly. This strategy will assist in offering mental health education and offering emotional and psychosocial support to the elderly (Banerjee, 2020). However, early detection will ensure early intervention, thus improving the life quality. Implementing these coping techniques will not only help the elderly to curb depression during the covid-19 pandemic and after the pandemic. The elderly require love and attention, thus reducing loneliness and depression rates.

Screening and constant monitoring of the elderly is an essential aspect of reducing depression rates. These services will ensure any mild symptoms identification among the elderly, thus implementing effective care services. Most elderly are neglected by the government and acquire minor medical attention services. The lack of medical, emotional, and social support affects the elderly personal growth leading to depression issues. Thus, offering regular screening and monitoring services will ensure the elderly acquire effective medical services, hence addressing any mild symptoms. Dealing with these symptoms will play an essential role in enhancing adequate welfare for the elderly. Additionally, the services will reduce suicide risks among the elderly.

Summary

In conclusion, the elderly are susceptible to depression cases due to Covid-19, where they encounter severe complications, higher mortality, and expertise adaption issues such as telemedicine and interruptions of their daily customs. Depression is an illness that affects one’s psychosocial well-being and contributes highly to poor mental health status. Due to covid-19, the elderly are forced into self-isolation, limiting visits from family members and relatives. This environment causes loneliness, low self-esteem, and anxiety, contributing highly to low emotional support, poor mental status, and depression. The covid-19 pandemic is a danger to the elderly as it causes mental health issues due to physical distancing, disease encounters, disgrace, and discernment. Although the covid-19 pandemic has been a threat to the elderly leading to depression, this issue can be controlled by implementing essential coping mechanisms. Poverty is an enormous challenge that is affecting the World. Roughly 800 million people in the World are suffering in poverty. Poverty has made older adults more vulnerable to depression and poor mental health status during the pandemic. Critical techniques to address depression among the elderly include social media, home care services implementation, and increasing communication frequency. These coping techniques will assist the elderly to recover effectively and aid in reducing social isolation and depression rates.

References

Banerjee D. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on elderly mental health. International journal of geriatric psychiatry, 35(12), 1466–1467. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5320

De Pue, S., Gillebert, C., Dierckx, E., Vanderhasselt, M. A., De Raedt, R., & Van den Bussche, E. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being and cognitive functioning of older adults. Scientific reports, 11(1), 1-11. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84127-7

Kivi, M., Hansson, I., & Bjälkebring, P. (2021). Up and About: Older Adults’ Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Swedish Longitudinal Study. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 76(2), e4–e9. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa084

López, J., Perez-Rojo, G., Noriega, C., Carretero, I., Velasco, C., Martinez-Huertas, J. A., López-Frutos, P., & Galarraga, L. (2020). Psychological well-being among older adults during the covid-19 outbreak: A comparative study of the young–old and the old–old adults. International Psychogeriatrics. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1017/S10…

Losada-Baltar, A., Jiménez-Gonzalo, L., Gallego-Alberto, L., Pedroso-Chaparro, M. D. S., Fernandes-Pires, J., & Márquez-González, M. (2021). “We are staying at home.” Association of self-perceptions of aging, personal and family resources, and loneliness with psychological distress during the lock-down period of COVID-19. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(2), e10-e16. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32282920/

Padayachey, U., Ramlall, S., & Chipps, J. (2017). Depression in older adults: prevalence and risk factors in a primary health care sample. South African Family Practice, 59(2), 61–66. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.4102/saf…

Park, L. T., & Zarate Jr., C. A. (2019). Depression in the Primary Care Setting. New England Journal of Medicine, 380(23), 2279–2280. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1056/NEJ…

Semo B, & Frissa SM. (2020). The Mental Health Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, ume 13, 713–720. Retrieved from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32982500/

Vahia, I. V., Jeste, D. V., & Reynolds, C. F., 3rd. (2020). Older Adults and the Mental Health Effects of COVID-19. JAMA, 324(22), 2253–2254. Retrieved from:https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.1001/jam…

Van Tilburg, T. G., Steinmetz, S., Stolte, E., van der Roest, H., & de Vries, D. H. (2020). Loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study among Dutch older adults. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, gbaa111. Advance online publication. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa111

Zhou, R., Chen, H., Zhu, L., Chen, Y., Chen, B., Li, Y., & Chen, Z. (2021). Mental Health Status of the Elderly Chinese Population During COVID-19: An Online Cross-Sectional Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry. Retrieved from: https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.3389/fps…