Consideration of Social Aspects and Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Elderly People: A Literature Review

Abstract

Purpose: A literature review was conducted to explore the social factors and mental health-related scales, and to examine associations between social factors and mental health of the elderly, in order to consider the social aspects and mental health as outcome measurements for an effective community-based care. Methods: An electronic search for English articles published in peer-reviewed journals up to October 2019 was performed using PubMed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL with the following search terms: “social cohesion,” “mental health,” “elderly,” and “community.” Inclusion criteria were 3 as follows; 1) studies in community-dwelling elderly people or participants including elderly individuals; 2) studies with clear descriptions of social factors in the Methods section; and 3) studies with clear descriptions of health-related items (e.g., mental health) in the Methods section. The extracted articles were subjected to narrative review. Results: In total, 118 articles were identified, of which 11 met the inclusion criteria after critical review of the full text. 6 mental health-related scales were perceived in order to assess of mental health or depression or anxiety of the elderly. And, 4 factors related to social aspects; neighborhood social cohesion, social capital, neighborhood environment, and social support, were perceived. Significant associations between social aspects and mental health of the elderly were examined. In social cohesion, 6 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. In social capital, 3 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. In neighborhood environment, 3 studies reported a significant association with elderly mental health. Discussion: In the development of an effective community-based care, it may be expected to be focused on social aspects to lead to promoting mental health of the elderly. For the further investigation, it will need to be considered more clearly defined measurements related to social aspects and mental health of the elderly, and it will be more important to pile the research data globally.