The views of older community residents toward mental health problems

A series of focus groups were conducted at two senior centers and two senior congregated housing developments in the greater Baltimore Metropolitan area in order to examine the views older adults have about mental health services. Among the several themes that emerged from the focus groups were: (a) depression and anxiety were seen as very common in older adults; (b) barriers such as the stigma, cost, fragmentation of services, transportation, and primary care physicians made it difficult to seek care; (c) seniors felt more resilient than younger adults; (d) seniors had a mixed reaction to others experiencing mental health problems; (e) individuals are responsible for their own mental health care; (f) mental health treatment works; and (g) mental health problems could be prevented. Among the recommendations made by the authors are to increase use of senior centers to reduce social isolation and promote health, education and well-being in a nontraditional setting. Also, primary care physicians must be encouraged and educated in the recognition, screening, assessment, treatment and referral for mental health problems in older adults. And lastly, physicians need to understand how the stigma of mental health problems can cause difficulty when older adults speak about mental health issues.