Levels and rates of depression among Chinese people living in Chinese ethno-specific and mainstream residential care in Sydney

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the levels and rates of depression in Chinese residents living in ethno-specific nursing homes (NHs), and Chinese residents living in mainstream NHs in Sydney. Australia has a growing aging migrant population and rates of depression in NHs are high, but the prevalence of depression in culturally and linguistically diverse residents has received little attention in the research literature. Older persons from a Chinese background residing in either Chinese-specific or mainstream NHs located in Sydney were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey. Assessments included the Mini-mental State Examination, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), and interviews with family carers and staff. Fifty-eight Chinese residents were recruited from three Chinese-specific NHs (n = 31) and 13 mainstream NHs (n = 27). There were no significant differences in resident depression levels or rates between the facility types. Mean CSDD scores were 9.4 (SD = 6.0) and 11.2 (SD = 6.1) in Chinese-specific and mainstream NHs, respectively. Chinese-specific NH residents had lower prescription levels of antipsychotics and more of them received effective antidepressant therapy in comparison to those in mainstream NHs. These findings suggest that in comparison to mainstream care Chinese ethno-specific care does not impact on levels or rates of depression but is associated with less antipsychotic use and higher numbers of residents treated effectively with antidepressant therapy. Longitudinal research with larger samples and a range of outcome measures including quality-of-life and social engagement is required to explore further the effects of ethno-specific care.