Last year, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, presented some disturbing findings regarding care for mental health and substance abuse issues for seniors. According to the report, millions of baby boomers are likely to face difficulties getting diagnoses and treatment for these problems, and as the population ages we need to make a major effort to significantly boost the number of health professionals and other service providers able to supply this care.
However, the report also noted that the problem is so great that a few changes here and there aren’t enough to address it, and are called for all who care for seniors, including primary care physicians, nurses, physicians’ assistants, and social workers, to recognise signs and symptoms of geriatric mental health conditions, neglect, and substance misuse and abuse. The report said this was vital to be able to provide at least basic care.
According to the committee behind the report, national attention and resources need to be turned towards building a work force of sufficient size that is trained in geriatric mental health and substance abuse care. Depressive disorders and dementia-related behavioural and psychiatric symptoms are the most prevalent among baby boomers, but rates of accidental and intentional misuse of prescription medications are one the rise. Though the rate of illicit drug use among older individuals is low, studies have indicated that this is set to increase as the baby boomers age.
On a financial level, the report stresses that it actually would cost more to pay insufficient attention to older adults’ mental health conditions, aside from the fact that it would produce poorer health outcomes. If you’re an older individual with untreated depression, for example, you are less likely to properly take medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease and more likely to require repeated costly hospital stays.
As an older adult, you are also more likely to have physical conditions and impairments in thinking and ability to function and this can complicate the detection and treatment of mental health problems and substance misuse or abuse. Therefore, older patients need help to self-manage their conditions, and monitoring to prevent relapses.
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