With people living longer, often with chronic illnesses and disabilities, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how depression, disability, and physical illnesses are interrelated, the mechanisms underlying these interrelationships, and their implications for diagnosis and treatment. This volume synthesizes a carefully selected portion of the knowledge about physical illness and depression that has emerged during the past twenty years.
Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.
Depression is the most prevalent mental health disorder in later life, affecting 1 in 10 older people. It can have devastating effects on quality of life and is associated with an increased mortality, poorer recovery from physical illness, longer hospital stays and greater health care costs. Yet of all mental disorders, depression is the most readily treatable. This book provides practical clinical guidance and communicates in a concise, easy-to-read format the mass of information now available in this area. Written from an evidence-based perspective, it presents authoritative guidelines on the best practice and management of depression in older people with regard to the presentation, causation, drug and non-drug management of depression and the aftercare involved in order to keep the patient well. Supported with clinical data and additional practical material, ranging from scales and algorithms to summaries of major papers and WPA teaching modules, this is a valuable resource not only for psychiatrists but also neurologists, geriatricians and primary care practitioners.
This important book examines the relationship between religion and mental health throughout the life cycle, with a special emphasis on later life. It asserts that successful aging is possible regardless of physical health or environmental circumstances, and that religious beliefs and behaviors may facilitate successful aging. Aging and God thoroughly examines the effects of religion and mental health on aging and provides a centralized resource of up-to-date references of research in the field. It focuses on recent findings, theoretical issues, and implications for clinical practice and contains ideas for further research. In Aging and God, you’ll also find information on project design that can help you develop grant applications and carry out studies.Aging and God is a helpful book for both mental health and religious professionals. It helps mental health specialists better understand the spiritual needs of older adults and the impact that religion can have on facilitating mental health. It also describes how religion can be utilized in clinical practice and integrated into psychotherapeutic approaches to older patients. The book brings religious professionals current knowledge of the major psychological problems that older adults face and how religion can be used to help alleviate these problems.Full of pertinent information, Aging and God addresses theoretical aspects of human development, focusing on cognitive, moral, and religious faith development examines situations and disorders of particular concern to older persons and looks at how religion can be used as a resource applies research findings to the problem of meeting the spiritual and mental health needs of elders with chronic or acute health problems provides an in-depth look at end-of-life issues such as physician-assisted suicideHospital and nursing home chaplains will find this book informative and encouraging, as will gerontologists, hospital administrators, and community clergy faced with increasingly older congregations. It gives mental health professionals new strategies to help improve the later years of older adults, and makes an excellent text for courses on religion, mental health, and aging. Middle-aged and older adults, as well as their families, will also find Aging and God enjoyable and inspiring as they attempt to grapple with the myriad adjustment and coping problems associated with aging.
At least 5.6 million to 8 million-nearly one in five-older adults in America have one or more mental health and substance use conditions, which present unique challenges for their care. With the number of adults age 65 and older projected to soar from 40.3 million in 2010 to 72.1 million by 2030, the aging of America holds profound consequences for the nation. For decades, policymakers have been warned that the nation's health care workforce is ill-equipped to care for a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. In the specific disciplines of mental health and substance use, there have been similar warnings about serious workforce shortages, insufficient workforce diversity, and lack of basic competence and core knowledge in key areas. Following its 2008 report highlighting the urgency of expanding and strengthening the geriatric health care workforce, the IOM was asked by the Department of Health and Human Services to undertake a complementary study on the geriatric mental health and substance use workforce. The Mental Health and Substance Use Workforce for Older Adults: In Whose Hands? assesses the needs of this population and the workforce that serves it. The breadth and magnitude of inadequate workforce training and personnel shortages have grown to such proportions, says the committee, that no single approach, nor a few isolated changes in disparate federal agencies or programs, can adequately address the issue. Overcoming these challenges will require focused and coordinated action by all.
This handy DSM-5(R) Classification provides a ready reference to the DSM-5 classification of disorders, as well as the DSM-5 listings of ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes for all DSM-5 diagnoses. To be used in tandem with DSM-5(R) or the Desk Reference to the Diagnostic Criteria From DSM-5(R), the DSM-5(R) Classification makes accessing the proper diagnostic codes quick and convenient. With the advent of ICD-10-CM implementation in the United States on October 1, 2015, this resource provides quick access to the following: - The DSM-5(R) classification of disorders, presented in the same sequence as in DSM-5(R), with both ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes. All subtypes and specifiers for each DSM-5(R) disorder are included.- An alphabetical listing of all DSM-5 diagnoses with their associated ICD-9-CM and ICD-10-CM codes.- Separate numerical listings according to the ICD-9-CM codes and the ICD-10-CM codes for each DSM-5(R) diagnosis.- For all listings, any codable subtypes and specifiers are included with their corresponding ICD-9-CM or ICD-10-CM codes, if applicable. The easy-to-use format will prove indispensable to a diverse audience--for example, clinicians in a variety of fields, including psychiatry, primary care medicine, and psychology; coders working in medical centers and clinics; insurance companies processing benefit claims; individuals conducting utilization or quality assurance reviews of specific cases; and community mental health organizations at the state or county level.
