LAUSR

Aging is a biological process experienced by mankind. It is a sequence of changes across the life span of an individual. Although aging is the last stage of life, it is multidimensional process. Currently, 10% of the world’s population is filled by older people (World Health Organization). In 1950, the older population of the world was 200 million, and this was estimated to rise to 1.2 billion by 2025; we can expect a sixfold increase in another 75 years. Ireland and other European countries evidenced that the birth rate has been falling with a significant increase in older people. These changing shifts in population structure will increase the conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and also depressive disorders (Shives, 2005). In India, 50% of the population has been depression in the last two decades, and it is projected to increase further during the next 25 years as a consequence of the epidemiological and demographic transitions. Depression is a disorder of major public health importance, in terms of its prevalence, suffering, dysfunction and morbidity. Hence, it is a challenging task for mental health care professionals to recognize older people having depression. The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of reflex therapy among older people with depression and to associate the post-test level of depression with the selected demographic variables. The study was carried out in 60 older people selected by randomization with the age of 60 years and above, living in two different old age homes with mild and moderate depression, and was approved by the Institutional Human Ethics Committee of Saveetha University. Tool consists of demographic variables such as age, gender, marital status, availability of family support, duration of stay in old age home, use of antidepressants and Geriatric Depression Scale by Welden and Yesavage (1982).