윤현숙1, 김여진1, 최경원1, 임연옥2, 남일성3, 김운정1, 함혜진1

1한림대학교 사회복지학과, 2한림대학교 고령사회연구소, 3성공회대학교 사회복지학과

Background: Appropriate intervention has not been
developed and implemented because depression has
been overlooked for older cancer patients. However,
because depression is prevalent among this population,
the need for the intervention is high. The objective of this
study was to verify the effectiveness of the prob￾lem-
solving therapy program in reducing depression level for
older cancer patients.
Methods: The experimental participants were recruited by
social workers in five university hospitals in Seoul,
Gyeonggi, and Gangwon. Using Patient Health
Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), older cancer patients who scored
be￾tween 10-19 points are selected. The subjects were
assigned to the experimental group (30 patients) and the
control group (30 patients) according to their will, and the
experimental group participated in the problem solv￾ing
therapy program for 6 weeks. The Center for
Epidemiological Studies Depression 10 Scale and the Social
Problem Solving Ability Scale were used to verify the
effectiveness of the problem-solving program.
Results: The group homogeneity test indicated that the
experimental group and the control group are
homogeneous. The results of this study showed that the
depression of older cancer patients had a significant
positive correlation with the negative attitude toward the
problem. The effectiveness of the problem solving pro￾gram
was significantly reduced in the experimental group
(Z=-3.534, P<0.001). And the social problem solving
ability of experimental group was significantly improved
(Z=-2.908, P=0.003).
Conclusions: The problem-solving therapy program is
effective for depression in geriatric cancer patients and
this result suggests that it can be implemented as an
alternative medical treatment.
Korean J Health Promot 2018;18(1):60-70
Keywords: Older cancer patients, Depression, Problem-
solving therapy