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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1431116

The Effect of Comprehensive Psychological Interventions on the Mental Health of the Elderly Population

Provisionally accepted
Zi-Ming Zhang Zi-Ming Zhang Hui-Jun Liu Hui-Jun Liu Gang Li Gang Li Ying He Ying He Xin Guo Xin Guo Fang Zhao Fang Zhao Ying-Jie Luo Ying-Jie Luo *
  • Tianshui Third People's Hospital, Tianshui, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objective: To observe the intervention effect of comprehensive psychological interventions on the mental health of the elderly population. Methods: 133 elderly aged 60 and above in two urban districts of Tianshui City from January 2020 to December 2020 were selected and divided into the intervention group (n=67) and the control group (n=66). The intervention group received comprehensive psychological interventions, with no intervention given to the control group. The anxiety rate, depression rate, loneliness rate and happiness rate of the two groups were collected and compared pre- and post-intervention. Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA) and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) were used to compare the psychological status of the elderly pre- and post-intervention. Results: Differences in the inter-group main effects and time-point main effects for SAS, SDS, UCLA, and MUNSH scores of the intervention group were significant (all p<0.05). The SAS, SDS, and UCLA scores of the intervention group were higher than those of the control group after intervention. Meanwhile, the SAS and SDS scores of the intervention group were lower than those of the control group after intervention (all p<0.05). Moreover, the MUNSH score of the intervention group was higher than that of the control group at 1-year follow-up post-intervention (p<0.05). Compared with pre-intervention values, the proportions of anxiety, depression loneliness, and happiness in the intervention group were improved at 1-year follow-up post-intervention (all P<0.05). Conclusion: This study provides basis and important support for further investigations and the monitoring of health indicators in a population as fragile as the elderly. Targeted comprehensive psychological interventions can improve the negative emotions of community-dwelling elderly and maintain their physical and mental health. The "community-hospital linkage" mental health service model can improve the mental health status of community-dwelling elderly.

    Keywords: Community, Depression, Anxiety, Elderly, Comprehensive Psychological Interventions

    Received: 11 May 2024; Accepted: 31 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Liu, Li, He, Guo, Zhao and Luo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Ying-Jie Luo, Tianshui Third People's Hospital, Tianshui, China

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