| Sumario: | Background: Heart failure (HF) makes it difficulty in adapt to disease and treatment in the elderly. Therefore, social support is crucial for the care of people with HF. Loss of social support might lead to mental health problems like anxiety disorder and depression. Aim: This research aimed to evaluation of the relationship between social support and depression in the elderly with heart failure Methods: The study sample comprised 112 elderly people who visited the cardiology clinic and polyclinic of a university hospital in Izmir/Turkey. Data were collected by using the "Introductory Information Questionnaire", "Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support" and "Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form". Results: The average age of elderly was 71.34±7.18 years. The mean value for geriatric depression scale-short form and total multidimensional scale for perceived social support was 8.90±3.80 and 51.06±10.87, respectively. No significant correlation was found between the perceived social support and the level of depression (r=-0.02, p>0.05). Depending on whether they lived together or not (p<0.03) and on the heart failure functional class (p<0.01), a significant difference was found in the distribution of the mean value of the total geriatric depression scale-short form. Conclusion: The study suggests that the mean value of depression is at a level adequate for a diagnosis of depression, the level of perceived social support is on a moderate level and that there is no significant relationship between perceived social support and the mean value of depression.
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