Experiences of Depression in Low Income Elderly Women

Jeung-Im Kim; Haeng-Mi Son

doi:10.4069/kjwhn.2016.22.4.241

Journal List > Korean J Women Health Nurs > v.22(4) > 1089545

Go to TopGo to Top Go to BottomGo to Bottom

TOOLS

Kim and Son: Experiences of Depression in Low Income Elderly Women

Original Article

Korean Journal of Women Health Nursing 2016; 22(4): 241-253.

Published online: 27 December 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4069/kjwhn.2016.22.4.241

Experiences of Depression in Low Income Elderly Women

Jeung-Im Kim¹, Haeng-Mi Son²

¹School of Nursing, Soonchunhyang University, Chonan, Korea.

²Department of Nursing, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Korea.

Corresponding author: Son, Haeng-Mi. Department of Nursing, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, 93 Daehak-ro, Nam-gu, Ulsan 44610, Korea. Tel: +82-52-259-1239, Fax: +82-52-259-1236, sonhm@mail.ulsan.ac.kr

Received 8 September 2016 Revised 18 November 2016 Accepted 28 November 2016

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the meaning of the depression in low income elderly women.

Methods

Participants were 15 elderly women, aged between 60 and 80 who were registered in two senior welfare centers in Seoul. Data were collected from June to December, 2012 after having obtained consent from participants. In-depth interviews were done with open-ended questions about their depression experiences, which were audio-taped and transcribed with verbatim. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to discover the categories considering their relationships and abstractness.

Results

Depressions of aged women were a part of the their life throughout their long lived hardship and was implied unhealed wounds within the relationship. Participants did not know how to manage with depression symptoms that they tried to overcome individually but due to decreased activities and interpersonal relationships, their depressions were tended to continue. They have tried to get out from depressive symptoms, but it still remains unseen shadow of mind.

Conclusion

This results suppose that social support and aged welfare policy included reliving the economical difficulty and improving relationships will be provided to manage the depression for low income elderly women.

Keywords: Depression, Poverty, Aged, Women, Qualitative research

Figures and Tables

Table 1

Experiences of Depression for Low Income Elderly Women

Categories	Subcategories	Concept
Unhealed wounds within the relationship	Unhappy Marriage	· Forced marriage · Disregardfulness of husband · Affair of husband · Financial incompetence of husband · Divorce
	Maternalistic sense of guilt	· Neglected rearing of children · Finding lost children · Concerns on unmarried children · Concerns on divorced children · Concerns on economically unstable children · Concerns on children with diseases
	Deception by surrounding people	· Was defrauded the money
Hardships of life as my destiny	Household economy is on me	· Live with work for life · Seeking works · Manual labor/work for anything available
Hardships of life as my destiny	Helping hands to continue daily living	· Government supports · Supports from welfare facilities
Body and mind that need care	Wounded body	· Arthritis · Low back pain · Other disease : Diabetes mellitus, Hypertension
	Wounded mind	· Lethargy · Suicidal · Anxiety · Hatred · Agitation · Insomnia
	Desolated care of my body	· Can not go to hospital due to financial difficulty · Non-knowledgable of medical information
Shade of mind longing for communication	Loneliness	· Bending life · Disregard of family and surrounding people · No friends to talk with
Shade of mind longing for communication	Sorrow	· Wailing · Unhappy family environment · Unfair life
Simple efforts to seek peace	Seeking the exit	· Watching TV · Wondering purposelessly · Visiting traditional market · Meeting friends · Participate in the community center programs
Simple efforts to seek peace	Controlling mind	· Religion · Think positively

Notes

This work was supported by the Korean Association for Qualitative Research.

This work was supported by the Soonchunhyang University.

Summary Statement

▪ What is already known about this topic?

The prevalence rate of depression in elderly women is higher than in men. Elderly women with depression is likely to make up an increasing proportion of suicidal ideation.

▪ What this paper adds?

In low income elderly women, depression is a part of the their life throughout their long lived hardship, and is implied unhealed wounds within the relationship. It still remains unseen shadow of their mind.

▪ Implications for practice, education and/or policy

Welfare policy to relive the economical difficulty and nursing intervention to improve interpersonal relationships might be helpful to manage the depression for poor elderly women.

References

1. World Health Organization. Global burden of mental disorders and the need for a comprehensive, coordinated response from health and social sectors at the country level [Internet]. Geneva: Author;2011. Cited 2012 April 12. Available from: http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB130/B130_9-en.pdf.

2. Sohn SY. A study on factors affecting the elderly suicidal ideation in Korea. Korean J Health Serv Manag. 2014; 8(2):149–160.

3. Cao W, Guo C, Ping W, Tan Z, Guo Y, Zheng J. A community-based study of quality of life and depression among older adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016; 13(7):693.

4. Kim JI, Choe MA, Chae YR. Prevalence and predictors of geriatric depression in community-dwelling elderly. Asian Nurs Res (Korean Soc Nurs Sci). 2009; 3(3):121–129.

5. Song MS, Kim NC, Lee DH. Factors related to depression and activities of daily living in elders with symptoms of depression. J Korean Gerontol Nurs. 2008; 10(1):20–26.

6. Kim CG, Park S. Gender difference in risk factors for depression in community-dwelling Elders. J Korean Acad Nurs. 2012; 42(1):136–147.

7. Kim YJ, Park SY. Depression of retired elderly women in comparison with retired elderly men. J Inst Soc Sci. 2013; 24(3):309–332.

8. Kouwenhoven SE, Kirkevold M, Engedal K, Kim HS. ‘Living a life in shades of grey’: Experiencing depressive symptoms in the acute phase after stroke. J Adv Nurs. 2012; 68(8):1726–1737.

9. Hsieh HF, Shannon SE. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res. 2005; 15(9):1277–1288.

10. Sandelowski M. The problem of rigor in qualitative research. ANS Adv Nurs Sci. 1986; 8(3):27–37.

11. Lee MS, Joung WJ, Hwang EM. Recovery process from depression of middle-aged low-income women in Korea through text analysis on the data of depression experience. Textlinguitics. 2016; 40:199–223.

12. Hedelin B, Strandmark M. The meaning of depression from the life-world perspective of elderly women. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2001; 22(4):401–420.

13. Jeon GS, Jang SN, Kim DS, Cho SI. Widowhood and depressive symptoms among Korean elders: The role of social ties. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2013; 68(6):963–973.

14. Hou F, Cerulli C, Wittink MN, Caine ED, Qiu P. Depression, social support and associated factors among women living in rural China: A cross-sectional study. BMC Womens Health. 2015; 15:28.

15. Chen YY, Wong GH, Lum TY, Lou VW, Ho AH, Luo H, et al. Neighborhood support network, perceived proximity to community facilities and depressive symptoms among low socioeconomic status Chinese elders. Aging Ment Health. 2016; 20(4):423–431.

16. Bjørkløf GH, Kirkevold M, Engedal K, Selbæk G, Helvik AS. Being stuck in a vice: The process of coping with severe depression in late life. Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2015; 10:27187.

17. Kim YK. Characteristics of middle class families and policy implications. Health Welf Policy Forum. 2012; 187:20–39.

18. Kim JY, Lee JM. The relationship of life-stress and depression between the poor elderly women and ordinary elderly womenfocus on control effect of self-esteem and social support. J Welf Aged Inst. 2008; 39:399–420.

19. Westdahl C, Milan S, Magriples U, Kershaw TS, Rising SS, Ickovics JR. Social support and social conflict as predictors of prenatal depression. Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 110(1):134–140.

20. George LK, Blazer DG, Hughes DC, Fowler N. Social support and the outcome of major depression. Br J Psychiatry. 1989; 154:478–485.

21. Grav S, Hellzén O, Romild U, Stordal E. Association between social support and depression in the general population: The HUNT study, a cross sectional survey. J Clin Nurs. 2012; 21(1-2):111–120.

22. Cacioppo JT, Hughes ME, Waite LJ, Hawkley LC, Thisted RA. Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses. Psychol Aging. 2006; 21(1):140–151.

23. Wen M, Hawkley LC, Cacioppo JT. Objective and perceived neighborhood environment, individual SES and psychosocial factors, and self-rated health: An analysis of older adults in Cook County, Illinois. Soc Sci Med. 2006; 63(10):2575–2590.

24. Beal C. Loneliness in older women: A review of the literature. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2006; 27(7):795–813.

25. St John PD, Montgomery PR. Marital status, partner satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in older men and women. Can J Psychiatry. 2009; 54(7):487–492.

26. Azar D, Ball K, Salmon J, Cleland VJ. Physical activity correlates in young women with depressive symptoms: A qualitative study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010; 7:3.

27. Dekker RL, Peden AR, Lennie TA, Schooler MP, Moser DK. Living with depressive symptoms: Patients with heart failure. Am J Crit Care. 2009; 18(4):310–318.

28. Hung M, Bounsanga J, Voss MW, Crum AB, Chen W, Birmingham WC. The relationship between family support; Pain and depression in elderly with arthritis. Psychol Health Med. 2017; 22(1):75–86.

29. Graven LJ, Grant J. The impact of social support on depressive symptoms in individuals with heart failure. J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2013; 28(5):429–443.

TOOLS

Similar articles