Capstone Project: Psychological Depression

Benchmark - Capstone Project Change Proposal
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Background
Depression is regarded as a major health problem and has affected millions of people throughout the United States and other regions across the world. By 2017, it was approximated that over seventeen million adults in the United States had a major depressive episode, and the number represented about seven percent of all adults. In recent years, the cases of depression and increased among young people and adults, and the trends are influenced by different factors including genetics, serious illnesses, undesirable life events, social challenges, and substance abuse. Unlike other mental conditions such as mood fluctuations, depression can have a significant impact on one’s social and health condition. Individuals with depression are often provided with pharmacologic therapy and behavioral interventions are mainly avoided. Using antidepressants to manage depression among adult patients would result in other challenges associated with the negative side effects. The project focuses on evaluating the effectiveness and suitability of physical activities in managing depression among depressed adults in rehabilitation centers.
Clinical problem statement
The World Health Organization maintains the moderate, several, and long-lasting depression would have undesirable health outcomes and there is, therefore, a need to ensure that individuals who are at high risk of getting diagnosed with depression such as the older adults are provided with self-management approaches that they can use in controlling and managing their depressive symptoms. The older adults are at a huge risk of getting depression because of their underlying factors such as economic challenges, inabilities to perform undertake personal activities, and lack of social connectedness (Vu et al., 2019). Additionally, depression among adults is also linked to suicide, reduced cognitive and physical functioning and it also increases the mortality rates. Development and implementation of non-pharmacological interventions to help in managing depression among adults in rehabilitation centers would be crucial since systematic and controlled health activities may function as effectively as antidepressant medication. Besides, physical activities would help in promoting patients’ moods, thoughts, and influence their thinking without causing negative side effects. Nurses and other healthcare practitioners in a hospital would be required to collaborate to develop an individualized physical exercise plan that meets the patients’ mental health conditions.
Additionally, millions of Americans report major depressive disorder every year, this necessitates a crucial change in how healthcare organizations respond and help depressed individuals and patients with other mental conditions. Besides, the number of Americans aged sixty-five and older is expected to increase within the next decades. Increase the population of the elderly people will put pressure on the current health system and will necessitate that healthcare organizations implement effective solutions to manage health conditions associated with elderly persons. Grieken et al. (2018) emphasize that implementing self-management methods m...