Introduction. Treatment of Depression in Long-Term Care Patients

Because this piece does not have an abstract, we have provided for your benefit the first 3 sentences of the full text.

Major depression affects about 15% of elderly patients in long-term care, and depressive symptoms are present in 2 to 3 times as many of these patients. Depression is a costly illness with a dramatic negative impact on quality of life. As the elderly population grows and represents an ever-increasing proportion of the overall population, depression threatens to cause even greater medical, social, and economic hardships.’ ‹