ABSTRACT
Objective:
to assess social support, to screen the scores indicative of depression, and to identify if social support is associated in any way with the scores and with the sociodemographic variables.
Method:
a cross-sectional and analytical study conducted at a Specialty Outpatient Service for Older Adults in São Paulo. A total of 133 aged individuals were selected from February 2019 to July 2021. During data collection, a structured questionnaire with diverse sociodemographic and clinical information was used, as well as having a caregiver or not; in addition, the following instruments were applied: Mini-Mental State Examination, Geriatric Depression Scale, Katz, Lawton and Social Support Scale.
Results:
the study participants' mean age was 74.2 years old, they were mostly women (72.9%), married (35.3%), white-skinned (70.7%) and retired (74.5%), they had four years of study (31.6%) and incomes up to one minimum wage (30.8%), and they were hypertensive (73.6%), diabetic (38.3%) and dyslipidemic (31.5%). It was observed that, in all the Social Support Scale domains, most of the interviewees perceived high support. It was evidenced that the highest frequency of aged people with normal psychological state corresponded to those with the highest frequency of high support perception in the Emotional and Positive social interaction domains.
Conclusion:
the study was able to evidence that aged people with a low perception of social support were the ones that presented more depressive symptoms. Therefore, by evidencing and knowing the sociodemographic profile of the service, it is possible to favor planning of the care provided by the multiprofessional team and propose strategic actions for comprehensive care.
DESCRIPTORS:
Older adult; Depression; Social support; Outpatient care; Protection factors; Risk factors