Psycho-social Intervention for Managing Depression among Older Adults – A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Depression is the most frequent mental health problem in older people, and it’s tough to manage because of late-life health issues and cognitive impairment. The study aim to investigate the efficacy of psycho-social intervention for managing depression in older adults and to explore whether types of interventions, specific aspects of the study, and research participants moderate the magnitude of the effectiveness of interventions. we searched different database and followed PRISMA guidelines. Include studies from 2001 to 2021 conducted among the elderly population aged 60 and above. The quality assessment technique developed by the Cochrane Collaboration was used to look for potential sources of bias. Comprehensive meta-analysis is used to analysing effect size. It is found that Psychosocial interventions are effective in reducing depression among older adults. The overall intervention effect size (hedges’ g) was found to be 1.118 (95% CI: 0.835- 1.402), significant at the 0.0001 level. Based on subgroup analysis it is clear that experimental design and severity of depression do not play changes in the effect size of intervention but cognitive impairments can influence the intervention effectiveness.