DEPRESSION IN INSTITUTIONALIZED ELDERLY

The Brazilian population is in constant and permanent change in demographic terms. Aging is a natural process of the body and may require adaptations in the lives of the elderly and their families, and in this context the Long-Term Care Institutions for the Elderly emerged as an alternative for social support. The institutionalization of the elderly person can be one of the factors of vulnerability to depressive conditions that can trigger psychiatric disorders, such as depression. The motivation for conducting the research arose from the question: "Does the fact of being institutionalized contribute to the development of depression in the elderly?", and aims to assess the presence of depression in the elderly in long-term care institutions, as well as to trace their sociodemographic profile. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach, developed in a long-term care institution for the elderly (LTCF). A total of 12 residents participated in the study, who answered a questionnaire, using a partial sample of 8 participants. The study showed ages between 60 and 89 years old (75%), 50% of whom were female, as well as male, self-declared white (62.5%), mostly single (62.5%), with incomplete elementary education (62.5%), living at least more than 6 months in the institution (37.5%), among them, 50% had children. There was  the presence of depressive symptoms in 87.5% of the elderly, and of these, 75% were classified as having mild depression. These results contributed to knowing important issues related to the mental health of institutionalized older adults, with a view to qualifying care for this public