Impact of attendance in a daycare centre on depression among elderly in rural Puducherry: A pre- & post-intervention study

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Depression is higher in the elderly and in the rural areas in India. There is a need for interventions to reduce depression among the elderly and improve their quality of life (QOL). This study was conducted to assess the impact of attendance at a community-based daycare centre in rural Puducherry, India, on depression, cognitive impairment (CI) and QOL of the elderly. METHODS: This was a before and after intervention study with a daycare centre set up in the village Thondamanatham in Puducherry, India, between January 2013 and January 2014. Socializing activities were held at the centre with psychological counselling. Depression was measured using Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS, short form), CI using the Hindi Mini-Mental Status Examination and QOL using WHO QOL BREF. RESULTS: There were 99 males and 164 females; of whom 42.2 per cent attended the daycare centre at least once a month. Significantly higher proportions of elderly had depression among those with lower frequency of attendance at the daycare centre. Irrespective of the pre-intervention status, attendance at the daycare centre reduced the probability of depression by about 51 per cent. There was an improvement in the WHO QOL scores in the social domain among those who attended more than once a month. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: GDS scores decreased and WHO QOL scores increased with increasing attendance at the daycare centre. Thus, the intervention was found to be effective in reducing depression and improving QOL of the elderly.