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Article: Depression and older adults.(SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATIONS)(Disease/Disorder overview)
- Article from:
- AORN Journal
- Article date:
- February 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Perioperative nurses often are faced with complex, clinical presentations when assessing patients who may have comorbid mental disorders. For example, depression in a patient is one condition that frequently goes undetected and untreated. (1) Factors that contribute to this problem include a patient's reluctance to discuss emotional issues, societal stigmatization of depression, a clinician being too hurried to spend time with the patient, or a health care worker's lack of knowledge or skill in recognizing depression.
Nearly one-third of all older adults may have symptoms of depression and five million are known to be clinically depressed. (2) Perioperative ...