AB039. Mental health status and coping ability among older Filipino adults in an institutional care facility
Abstract

AB039. Mental health status and coping ability among older Filipino adults in an institutional care facility

Louie Jay Cruz, Doneal Andrei Decapia, Benedict Ignacio, John Edward Escote, Michael John Flores

College of Nursing, Manila Central University, Manila, Philippines

Correspondence to: Louie Jay Cruz. College of Nursing, Manila Central University, Manila, Philippines. Email: louiercruz921@gmail.com.

Background: Older adults confined to care facilities may experience negative health impacts, especially during the pandemic. Less contact with loved ones can lead to depression, which is linked to the mental health status and coping skills of older adults. This study sought to determine the relationship between respondents’ self-perceived mental health status and coping abilities.

Methods: The study utilized a descriptive-correlational design and was conducted in a select institutional care facility located in Metro Manila. Purposive sampling was utilized for the selection of respondents. The sample (N=28) consists of 14 Filipino elders in an institutional care facility and 14 caregivers who provided care to the client, based on established criteria that are met. Data were collected through questionnaires along with an informed consent form; due to the pandemic, face-to-face interaction was restricted by the institution. Ethical principles were observed throughout this research. The study was approved by the ethics review board from a higher education institution in Metro Manila.

Results: The level of mental health status (GWM =1.33) and coping ability (GWM =2.73) of respondents resulted in “poor” and “good” verbal interpretation respectively. There was a significant relationship between educational attainment and self-perceived level of coping ability (P value =0.0004). Self-perceived level of mental health status and coping abilities showed a high level of significance (computed t-value =4.78). Both the self-perceived level of mental health status of the respondents and as perceived by caregivers, and the self-perceived level of coping abilities of the respondents and as perceived by caregivers showed no significant difference (computed t-value =0.47).

Conclusions: The ‘poor’ mental health status of older adults and ‘good’ coping skills are outcomes relating to their admission to an institutional setting. Coping skills were related to the mental health issues of respondents. Hence, care facilities must prioritize the provision of adequate care for older adults, especially in times of pandemics.

Keywords: Older adults; caregivers; mental health status; coping ability; institutional care facility

Acknowledgments

Funding: None.

Footnote

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the noncommercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/jphe-21-ab039
Cite this abstract as: Cruz LJ, Decapia DA, Ignacio B, Escote JE, Flores MJ. AB039. Mental health status and coping ability among older Filipino adults in an institutional care facility. J Public Health Emerg 2021;5:AB039.

Article Options

Download Citation

Share