Without recognition of the signs of a mental health problem in an elderly patient or family member combined with a lack of awareness regarding affordable community resources, the mental illness that occurs in the senior population often goes unnoticed and untreated. Such health issues are often going untreated due to a lack of awareness of family, caretakers and staff regarding symptoms and signs of mental health problems in older persons. Depression and cognitive decline of aging persons are two important categories of mental health illnesses that can be treated in the community. Increasing the use of mental health services to the elderly population requires improving awareness of access, ensuring there are skilled social workers who specialize in geriatrics and awareness of mental health of the elderly for caretakers and staff who interact with the elderly, and improving the delivery of services to be more culturally appropriate and adequate in treating the problem. This is of importance as the population of seniors expands with the aging of the baby boomers.
The elderly segment of the population is growing, as is mental illness in that population. Such health issues are often going untreated due to a lack of awareness of family, caretakers and staff regarding symptoms and signs of mental health problems in older persons. Depression and cognitive decline of aging persons are two important categories of mental health illnesses that can be treated in the community. Increasing the use of mental health services to the elderly population requires improving awareness of access, ensuring there are skilled social workers who specialize in geriatrics and awareness of mental health of the elderly for caretakers and staff who interact with the elderly, and improving the delivery of services to be more culturally appropriate and adequate in treating the problem. Other possible approaches include ensuring that rehabilitation centers and nursing homes increase their social services programs to include mental health awareness, and education and training for both families and care takers particularly regarding recognizing the signs of depression or suicide in their patients. This is of importance as the population of seniors expands with the aging of the baby boomers.
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"Increasing the Accessibility of Mental Health Services to the Elderly Population".
Nogueira, Moretti, Junior, Diefenthaeler, Neto, Engroff, & Gomes (2014) describe how with fewer supports and infrastructure, and a rapidly aging population, developing nations and emerging economies face great challenges regarding the mental health of their elderly population. The impairment of cognition and emotional regulation is a factor that relates to the mental health issues of the elderly, both in Brazil where this study was conducted and elsewhere in the world (Nogueira et al., 2014). This study evaluated the current approach to the mental health of seniors in Brazil to provide a replicable model of efficacy (Nogueira et al., 2014). Low cost methods were used by stratifying the study participants according to the risks which were noted by using a cognitive and physical screening approach (Nogueira et al., 2014). Various protocols flagged certain risks, and the patients with those risk factors were referred to specialized care to ensure preventative interventions in possible mental health issues such as dementia and depression (Nogueira et al., 2014). The researchers noted that this approach was efficient, cost effective, and resulted in better outcomes as care was accessed before problems arose or in early stages rather than after acute events. This is a study which health insurers should pay attention to, given the great potential of the approach for saving on the cost of care and promoting well-being.
Jimenez, Cook, Bartels, and Alegría (2013) conducted a study to better understand disparities in mental health services use and needs between populations of elderly people. This quantitative study used surveys of 1,658 elderly patients, their family and medical providers over a two-year period (Jiminez et al., 2013). The purpose was to seek out different patterns and extent of use of mental health services between white, black and Hispanic elderly persons who had likely mental health issues (Jiminez et al., 2013). Specific areas of interest included how treatment was initiated, whether that treatment was adequate, how long it lasted, drugs prescribed, how many visits were required and cost (Jiminez et al., 2013). The results of this study found that the initiation and adequacy of treatment were better for white elderly patients than for other groups, that Latino elderly patients had higher costs, more prescriptions, more visits and problems which lasted longer than the other groups, and black elderly patients had more episodes that consisted of just outpatient care (Jiminez et al., 2013). Problems with treatment initiation and adequacy required, according to the researchers, a new approach which included greater cultural relevance and sensitivity (Jiminez et al., 2013).
Another approach to efficiently dealing with mental illness of the elderly was the development of a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training program which was intended to educate staff who work with them regarding the difference between mental illness and normal gaining, as well as symptoms of signs that indicate additional support is required (Svensson & Hansson, 2017). The participants were 139 staff at a facility which provided care for the elderly (Svensson & Hansson, 2017). Researchers found that the results from the MHFA were promising, with significant positive changes to the confidence of workers in recognizing issues and facilitating help (Svensson & Hansson, 2017). The study recommended replication at a larger scale using a randomized controlled trial to confirm and validate the program and the outcomes of the elderly themselves, as the latter was not completed as part of the research (Svensson & Hansson, 2017).
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (2007) reported that currently there is a deficiency in the availability of mental health professionals with specialized skills in treating the elderly. This indicates both that the labor force available for this specialized purpose needs to grow and expand, but also that persons who work in various health care and community positions and interact regularly with seniors should also have specialized training made available to them to facilitate self-care.
Without recognition of the signs of a mental health problem in an elderly patient or family member combined with a lack of awareness regarding affordable community resources, the mental illness that occurs in the senior population often goes unnoticed and untreated. There are good models available and approaches that work to better identify and ensure treatment for elderly persons with mental health issues. Best practices for improving this situation include raising awareness of available services, ensuring that there are sufficient knowledgeable workers in this area and continually improving the interventions which provide mental health support to this population, including cultural relevance of treatment.
