Page 186 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 184 but also psychological, because everything we experience affects our
body and soul. Upon review of foreign research, we found that there
is a correlation between epidemic and epidemiological measures and
depression. Depression in the initial phase is often not detected in time,
which indicates the need for more effective preventive treatment in the
Reference dispensary of Family Medicine with screening and counseling.
Keywords: covid-19, depression, elderly, stress, loneliness

Introduction
It is a fact that the epidemic negatively affects people’s mental health. The most
at risk group are definitely the elderly. It is therefore crucial that the first signs
of psychiatric illnesses, including depression, are detected as soon as possible
to prevent their development. The nurse in the Reference Clinic plays an im-
portant role in the immediate detection, as she recognizes the first signs of de-
pression through screening tests and interviews and, based on the findings and
documentation, refers the patient to the chosen personal physician in a timely
manner. According to the authors, factors such as fear of infection, inadequate
information, stigma, or financial loss were associated with major negative psy-
chological impacts. These stressors, however, increase the risk of psychopa-
thology such as anxiety or depression (Pfferbaum & North, 2020). The World
Health Organization (WHO, 2020) in its guidelines recommends strict social
isolation of the geriatric population to control death in severely affected coun-
tries. As vulnerabilities increase, so do the fears, panic, and anxiety that have
been talked about but little talked about among the elderly and their families.
The purpose of the article is to find a correlation between the epidemic and the
development of depression in the elderly through a systematic review of the lit-
erature.

Methods
A descriptive method of work was used - literature review using the COBISS
bibliographic system, and literature review in databases such as: Medline, CI-
NAHL, PubMed , Wiley , Sicris and EBSCOhost . We searched for literature
for the period 2016 to 2021. The key words we used were: covid-19, depression,
old age, stress, loneliness in Slovenian or English (covid-19, depression , elderly
, stress , loneliness). The following were considered as inclusion /exclusion cri-
teria for the selection of literature: language, professionalism of literature, ac-
cessibility of literature in its entirety and age of literature.

Depression
Epidemics have historically negatively affected the mental health of the popu-
lation (GAVI, 2020). The rapid growth of confirmed cases and deaths has cre-
ated distress such as stress, anxiety, and depression in the general population
(Picaza Gorrochategi, et al ., 2020). Recent research has shown that infection
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