STRATEGIES TO
Reduce Depression
- Provide educational materials to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of depression in older adults.
- Educate older adults, caregivers, and/or healthcare providers around strategies to reduce depression.
- Create support groups and other types of “talk therapy” or socialization events.
- Encourage older adults to get between seven and nine hours of sleep every night, develop new hobbies, adopt healthy eating habits, and participate in a variety of activities that increase movement and socialization with others.
- Promote evidence-based programs that help older adults effectively address depression such as Improving Mood-Promoting Access to Collaborative Treatment (IMPACT) http://impact-uw.org/, Program to Encourage Active Rewarding Lives for Seniors (PEARLS), http://www.pearlsprogram.org/, and Healthy IDEAS (Identifying Depression, Empowering Activities for Seniors) http://www.ncoa.org/improve-health/center-for-healthy-aging/healthy-ideas-identifying.html
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