Informal antidepressant strategies for nursing home residents: two group concept mapping studies

Objectives To identify and structure potential informal antidepressant strategies that can be used in daily practice for nursing home residents alongside formal treatments. Methods In a first Group Concept Mapping study, residents, relatives, and professional caregivers (N = 124) brainstormed on strategies residents could use to prevent or alleviate depression. In a second study, the same participants (N = 110) reported strategies for use by others. Furthermore, participants rated the expected effectiveness and feasibility of the suggested strategies. Simultaneously, all strategies were sorted by experts and clustered using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results Six clusters emerged for strategies by residents themselves and five clusters for strategies by others. For residents' strategies, the clusters Being socially connected and Participating in activities were perceived as most effective, as was the cluster Offering personal attention for strategies by others. Participants perceived Creating a healthy living environment as the most feasible cluster executed by residents. Within strategies by others, the clusters Offering personal attention, Using positive treatment/approach, and Using or adapting the physical environment were perceived as the most feasible. Conclusion The results indicated the importance of social connectedness, a personalized and positive approach by significant others, and tailored activity programs. The results also suggest that adaptations to the physical environment within nursing homes may be an easy applicable strategy to prevent or alleviate depression in residents. Although more research is needed, these findings may guide daily practice and the development of interventions that include informal strategies. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2022.2057427 .

Automated summary

The study aims to identify and structure potential informal antidepressant strategies for nursing home residents to use in daily practice alongside formal treatments. Through two Group Concept Mapping studies, researchers identified multiple strategies that residents and others could use and evaluated their expected effectiveness and feasibility. The results emphasize the importance of social connectedness, personalized attention, and adaptations to the physical environment in preventing and alleviating depression.