Mental Health Issues and Aging: Impacts, Interventions, and Social Services

www.postersession.com
www.postersession.com
• The contemporary society is showing a gradual increase in the prevalence of mental health issues
among the older population with every passing day.
• The aging process is most often frustrating due to several physical and psychological reasons.
• Mental health can be defined as the condition of psychological wellbeing, besides the absence of
certain mental illnesses where the affected person is not able to achieve a satisfactory level of
behaviour, emotion, and adjustment (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013).
• Due to the aging phenomenon, adult individuals are typically not strong mentally and physically.
• They also fail to demonstrate independence as before.
• Aged people are vulnerable to illness and poor quality of life.
Impacts
Social Service agencies
Mental health issues and aging
Name of the Student
Name of the University
References
• While some persons suffering from mental disorders report major health difficulties, "late" recovery is
plausible (Slade et al., 2014).
• Aged people suffering from mental disorders demonstrate a more susceptibility for lessened quality of
life, poverty, vulnerability to abuse, dropped productivity, social problems, and increased health
abnormalities (Fredriksen-Goldsen et al., 2014).
• Psychological disorders have been reported to create a negative effect on the community, peers, and
family members of the people who are mentally hostile.
• This calls for the need to develop a deeper understanding the effects of mental illnesses on separate
patients and the already existing community systems (Clement et al., 2015).
• Women exhibit greater favourable intentions for seeking assistance from different mental health
professionals, in comparison to men. This can be accounted to their positive beliefs and attitudes that
are related to their psychological openness (Mackenzie et al., 2006).
• There exists a direct association between functional disability, physical illness, and suicidal ideations
in older adults (Fässberg et al., 2016).
• Aged adults who commit suicide are found to consult physicians, few weeks prior to their death,
where they mainly talk about their physical illnesses and do not disclose their mental distress and
suicidal feelings (Innamorati et al., 2014).
Canadian mental health association. (2017). NATIONAL Annual Report 2016/2017. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles/can_mh_profile.pdf?ua=1&ua=1.
Clement, S., Schauman, O., Graham, T., Maggioni, F., Evans-Lacko, S., Bezborodovs, N., ... & Thornicroft, G. (2015). What is the impact of mental health-related stigma on help- seeking? A systematic review of quantitative and
qualitative studies. Psychological medicine, 45(1), 11-27.
Fässberg, M. M., Cheung, G., Canetto, S. S., Erlangsen, A., Lapierre, S., Lindner, R., ... & Duberstein, P. (2016). A systematic review of physical illness, functional disability, and suicidal behaviour among older adults. Aging & mental
health, 20(2), 166-194.
Fredriksen-Goldsen, K. I., Kim, H. J., Shiu, C., Goldsen, J., & Emlet, C. A. (2014). Successful aging among LGBT older adults: Physical and mental health-related quality of life by age group. The Gerontologist, 55(1), 154-168.
Innamorati, M., Pompili, M., Di Vittorio, C., Baratta, S., Masotti, V., Badaracco, A., ... & Amore, M. (2014). Suicide in the old elderly: results from one Italian county. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22(11), 1158-1167.
Lamar, M., Charlton, R. A., Ajilore, O., Zhang, A., Yang, S., Barrick , T. R., ... & Kumar, A. (2013). Prefrontal vulnerabilities and whole brain connectivity in aging and depression. Neuropsychologia, 51(8), 1463-1470.
Libby, D. J., Pilver, C. E., & Desai, R. (2013). Complementary and alternative medicine use among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 5(3), 277.
Mackenzie, C. S., Gekoski, W. L., & Knox, V. J. (2006). Age, gender, and the underutilization of mental health services: the influence of help-seeking attitudes. Aging and mental health, 10(6), 574-582.
Pearson, C., Janz, T., & Ali, J. (2013). Mental and substance use disorders in Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Slade, M., Amering, M., Farkas, M., Hamilton, B., O'Hagan, M., Panther, G., ... & Whitley, R. (2014). Uses and abuses of recovery: implementing recovery oriented practices in mental‐ health systems. World Psychiatry, 13(1), 12-20.
Spinazzola, J., Hodgdon, H., Liang, L. J., Ford, J. D., Layne, C. M., Pynoos, R., ... & Kisiel, C. (2014). Unseen wounds: The contribution of psychological maltreatment to child and adolescent mental health and risk
outcomes. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 6(S1), S18.
Torontocentralhealthline.ca. (2018). Community Mental Health Programs - Toronto Central. Retrieved from http://www.torontocentralhealthline.ca/listServices.aspx?id=10237.
World health organization. (2011). Mental Health Atlas 2011- Canada. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/atlas/profiles/can_mh_profile.pdf?ua=1&ua=1.
Wyatt, T., & Oswalt, S. B. (2013). Comparing mental health issues among undergraduate and graduate students. American journal of health education, 44(2), 96-107.
1. Alternative medicine that focuses on aging and mental health- These refer to medicines of different
types that are administered based on the perspective and opinion of the users. Some common
alternative medicines are herbal remedies, exercise, energy healing, acupuncture, massage therapy,
spiritual healing, meditation, vitamin therapy, yoga, and dietary advice (Libby, Pilver & Desai,
2013).
2. Psychological testing- Psychological assessment refers to the exploration of a range of personality
characteristics, traits and human abilities. The tests are used for determination of the intelligence,
and cognitive capabilities of the person. Best available interventions in this regard are the Weschler
test, Stanford-Binet test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and Rorschach
Ink Blot test (Spinazzola et al., 2014).
3. Medications- The medications were first introduced in 1950s with the administration of the drug
chlorpromazine. Psychotherapeutic medications are found effective in treating people suffering from
a plethora of mental illnesses, by relieving the symptoms and improving the quality of life. The four
major categories of medications that are available are antimanic, antidepressant, antipsychotic, and
antianxiety medications.
• Anishnawbe Health Toronto: Aboriginal Mental Health and Addiction Services- The AMHA
Program encompasses 20-week days and is founded on a model of western and traditional healing
approaches. It places Aboriginal tradition and culture at the core, while adopting a strengths-based
and patient-centered approach for recovery of the users. It assists people on their recovery journey by
facilitating the reconstruction of their identity as Aboriginals and learning about their traditions
and culture.
• Baycrest: Geriatric Mental Health Community Support Services- Delivers a comprehensive and
exhaustive interdisciplinary assessment, care, and consultation for aged adults who experience
mental health disorders at their home or outpatient settings.
• Cota: Geriatric Mental Health Case Management Program- It delivers individualized support to all
patients suffering from age related dementia, and aged above 65 years, who are suffering from
serious mental disorders. The services are committed to being responsive and flexible to the discrete
desires and needs of the patients (Torontocentralhealthline.ca, 2018).
Social Issue Interventions
Importance
• With the process of aging, the mobility of the individual often slows down and diminishes.
• These changes directly alters their mental health.
• One of the major impacts is depression. The condition is related to lack of persistent feelings of
happiness (Lamar et al., 2013).
• It prevents the affected people from enjoying their life, thus taking a toll on their physical and
psychosocial health.
• Anxiety, dementia, and suicidal ideations are also common in the aged population.
• Mental illnesses found among adults are more likely to affect almost all families in Canada, and the
entire world (Pearson, Janz & Ali, 2013).
• The social issue leads to a disruption in the behavioural pattern of the affected person and bring
about a momentous distress and impairment in the individual’s personal functioning.
• Some of the most common mental illnesses are bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety and panic
disorder, and schizophrenia.
Source- (CMHA, 2017)
Source- (WHO, 2011)