Factors related to Depression of Rural Elders

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine factors related to depression in rural Korean elders. Methods: The participants in this study were 228 older adults living in four 'myeons ' of A city, Korea. The survey period was from June 1 to July 5, 2012. Variables measured were stress, ADL, health status, MMSE-K and depression. Descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Scheffe ́ test, Pearson correlation coefficients and hierarchial multiple re-gression analysis were used for data analysis. Results: Of the participants, 79.8 % were in the depression group based on 16 cut off points. Data analysis showed that stress, economic status and health status were the factors influencing depression of community dwelling elders in rural areas. Conclusion: In hierarchial multiple regression analysis, stress, economic status and health status significantly influenced depression of community dwelling eld-ers in the rural area. These findings suggest that stress reduction and health improvement programs should b