Date of Award

2022

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Mo-Kyung Sin

Readers

Alexi Vasbinder

Abstract

With the higher prevalence of depression and disrupted access to healthcare caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a rapid shift towards utilizing virtual platforms for treating patients. The use of technology was an innovative way of solving the dilemma but use of this is low among older adults and minorities of low socioeconomic status due to education and access.

The purpose of this study was to develop a guide of virtual resources for residents of an assisted living and to assess its usability and effectiveness in reducing depressive symptoms in lower socioeconomic status and minority older adults. The Donabedian Model was used to develop a mixed method, pre-posttest study to evaluate the implementation of a telehealth resource guide for older adults with mild depression at Kin On assisted living.

Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, content summarization, column charts, and a paired t-test. Findings regarding attitudes towards technology noted frustrations were based on unfamiliarity and learning something new, while the appeal was the ability to connect and increased access to knowledge. The likelihood of use among various formats of therapy demonstrated a high preference for in-person and the least preference for phone call therapy. All participants found the resource guide helpful but did not use any resources within the guide within 2 weeks, demonstrating no significant difference in depressive symptoms (mean before:1.75 (SD: 0.96), after: 1.75 (SD: 0.96), p =1).

This project has implications for providing a variety of treatment options for depression, increasing access, and empowering the use of technology for lower socioeconomic status and minority older adults.

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