Paper Title
The Relationship between The Depression Loneliness and Demographic Characteristics among the Elderly

Abstract
This research is a cross-sectional descriptive study to explore the relationship between depression, loneliness and personal factors among the elderly in the Nanglae Province, Chiang Rai, Thailand. The participants were 352 elderly in the community. The research instruments consisted of 3 parts as follows: 1) general information questionnaire 2) geriatric depression measure (GDS) and 3) UCLA Loneliness Scale. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi Square statistics were used to analyze the data. The research found that there were there were non-case of depression 52.6%, possible case 42.6%, and depression case 4.8%. According to loneliness level, the elderly were in the mild level 55.8%, medium level 42.7% and High level 1.6%.There were 3 variable correlate with depression. The study found the loneliness and groups of friends was significantly related with depression. (p = 0.001) Similarly, the source of income was significantly related with depression. (p = 0.006) On the other hand, there were no significantly related with depression in other factors which is gender, age, marital status, education, religion, current occupation, income, living style, caregiver, present illnesses, hobbies, and the medical treatment support. In Summation, depression loneliness was correlated in elderly, the community and family should encourage them to participate in activity. Moreover, financial and social support were the importance issues. Health care provider should implement the intervention focusing in promoting community participation, local wisdom, and occupations for the elderly. Keyword - Depression loneliness elderly