Effectiveness of peer counseling, social engagement, and combination interventions in improving depressive symptoms of community-dwelling Filipino senior citizens

Introduction Little is known about community-based interventions for geriatric depression in low-resource settings. This study assessed the effectiveness of 3-month-duration interventions with peer counseling, social engagement, and combination vs. control in improving depressive symptoms of community-dwelling Filipino senior citizens. Methods We conducted an open (non-blinded), non-randomized trial of senior citizens at risk for depression. Three different 3-month interventions included peer counseling (n = 65), social engagement (n = 66), and combination (n = 65) were compared with the control group (n = 68). We assessed geriatric depression, psychological resilience, perceived social support, loneliness, and working alliance scores at baseline and three months after the intervention. This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT03989284. Results Geriatric depression score over three months significantly improved in all intervention groups (control as reference). Significant improvements were also seen in psychological resilience and social support. Not all interventions, however, significantly improved the loneliness score. The combination group showed the largest effect of improving depressive symptoms (d = -1.33) whereas the social engagement group showed the largest effect of improving psychological resilience (d = 1.40), perceived social support (d = 1.07), and loneliness (d = -0.36) among senior citizens. Conclusion At the community level, peer counseling, social engagement, and combination interventions were effective in improving depressive symptoms, psychological resilience, and social support among Filipino senior citizens. This study shows that it is feasible to identify senior citizens at risk for depression in the community and intervene effectively to improve their mental health. Further studies are required to target loneliness and investigate the long-term benefits of the interventions.