The Relationship Between Spirituality and Depression in the Elderly

Abstract

Elderly life is the final phase of the human life cycle, during which physical and psychological decline occurs, making the elderly vulnerable to psychological problems, including depression. Similarly, at the Guguk Panjang Community Health Center in Bukittinggi, there were 3,809 elderly people recorded in 2023. One effort that can be made to prevent psychological problems in the elderly is through a spiritual approach. This study aims to determine the relationship between spirituality and the incidence of depression in the elderly. This type of research is an observational study with a cross-sectional approach. The independent variable in this study is spirituality and the dependent variable is the incidence of depression in the elderly. The population is all elderly people at the Guguk Panjang Community Health Center, totaling 3,809. Sampling used a purposive sampling technique with a sample size of 362 respondents. Data collection used a questionnaire as an instrument, while data analysis included univariate and bivariate analysis using the Spearman rank test. The results of the study showed that 60.8% of respondents had moderate spirituality, 47.8% of respondents were not depressed, 45.6% were highly likely to be depressed, and only 6.6% of respondents experienced depression. The results of the statistical analysis showed that there was a negative and significant relationship between spirituality and depression in the elderly with a strong relationship strength (p = 0.000 and r = -0.757). It can be concluded that there is a relationship between spirituality and the incidence of depression in the elderly; therefore it is hoped that the elderly can improve the quality of their spirituality to prevent psychological problems in the elderly.