The Mental Health System and Older Adults in the 1990s
Publication Date
1992
Description
Trends in mental health services for older adults during the past decade were used to predict salient issues for the current decade. These include overreliance on inpatient treatment, increased use of general hospitals as treatment sites, inadequate integration with the nursing-home industry, and insufficient mental health referrals from general medical providers. In the decade ahead, the mental health needs of older adults are unlikely to be an identified focus; rather the issues will overlap with other priorities (e.g., biomedical research on brain functioning, alternative treatment programs for the chronically mentally ill, and containing health care costs). Advocates for the elderly will be successful to the extent that they cast aging services within the context of these other concerns.
Journal
American Psychologist
Volume
47
Issue
6
First Page
741
Last Page
751
Department
Psychology
Link to Published Version
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1616172
Recommended Citation
Gatz, Margaret and Smyer, Michael A.. "The Mental Health System and Older Adults in the 1990s." American Psychologist (1992) : 741-751.