Pfeiffer have indicated that as many as 80 percent of nursing home patients have mental health disorders and that depression is one of the most frequent type of disorder. Similar findings have been noted in the report of the Secretaries Committee on Mental Health (1979). Specifically, the report indicated that as many as 60 percent of nursing home residents are depressed. To compound the matter, Foster, Cataldo, & Soloman (1982) noted that depression is the second most prevalent psychiatric disorder in long term care facilities. They also noted that 14 percent of newly admitted nursing home patients are depressed and that the incidence increases with time.
It should be noted that there are several factors which can play a role in the depression levels of elderly patients residing in nursing homes. For example, Cooper (1988) has noted that lack of recognition plays an important role in the etiology of nursing home related depression. Similarly, Scheier (1989) has noted that the debilitating effects of old age coupled with illness also are a major source of the depression experienced by nursing home patients. Indeed, the depressive effects of old age are perhaps best summarized by Barocas, Reichman & Schweibel (1983) who noted that:
Old age is a period of increased vulnerability to normal life crisis feelings of depression. The older person may experience repeated bereavement, difficulties in adjusting to retirement, and serious physical and social losses, such as neglect by his children, losses in vision and hearing, and frequent hospitalization and institutionalization. (p.97)
Barocas et al's (1983) mention of institutionalization is particularly salient to this study in that existing literature has began to show increasing evidence that one contributor to the level of depression experienced by nursing home patients is the quality of care these patients receive in the homes themselves.
With respect to the foregoi...