It is anticipated that the number of people older than 65 years with psychiatric disorders in the United States will increase from about 4 million in 1970 to15 million in 2030. The current health care system serves mentally ill older adults poorly and is unprepared to meet the upcoming crisis in geriatric mental health. We recommend the formulation of a 15- to 25-year plan for research on mental disorders in elderly persons. It should include studies of prevention, translation of findings from bench to bedside, large-scale intervention trials with meaningful outcome measures, and health services research. Innovative strategies are needed to formulate new conceptualizations of psychiatric disorders, especially those given scant attention in the past. New methods of clinical and research training involving specialists, primary care clinicians, and the lay public are warranted.
This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of an expert consensus workgroup that addressed the endangered pipeline of geriatric mental health (GMH) researchers. The workgroup was convened at the Summit on Challenges in Recruitment, Retention, and Career Development in Geriatric Mental Health Research in late 2007. Major identified challenges included attracting and developing early-career investigators into the field of GMH research; a shortfall of geriatric clinical providers and researchers; a disproportionate lack of minority researchers; inadequate mentoring and career development resources; and the loss of promising researchers during the vulnerable period of transition from research training to independent research funding. The field of GMH research has Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Bartels, Dartmouth Centers for Health and Aging, Dartmouth Medical School, Evergreen Center, Second Floor, 46 Centerra Parkway, Lebanon, NH 03766; telephone: (603) 653-0895; fax: (603) 653-0894; sbartels@dartmouth.edu. Other disclosures: None. Ethical approval: Not applicable.Disclaimer: The conclusions in this report represent the consensus judgment of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the policies or programs of MediSpin, Inc., or the National Institute of Mental Health. NIH Public Access Author ManuscriptAcad Med. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2010 September 1. Published in final edited form as:Acad Med. 2010 January ; 85(1): 26-35. doi:10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181c482cb. NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript been at the forefront of developing successful programs that address these issues while spanning the spectrum of research career development. These programs serve as a model for other fields and disciplines. Core elements of these multicomponent programs include summer internships to foster early interest in GMH research (Summer Training on Aging Research Topics-Mental Health Program), research sponsorships aimed at recruitment into the field of geriatric psychiatry (Stepping Stones), research training institutes for early career development (Summer Research Institute in Geriatric Psychiatry), mentored intensive programs on developing and obtaining a first research grant (Advanced Research Institute in Geriatric Psychiatry), targeted development of minority researchers (Institute for Research Minority Training on Mental Health and Aging), and a Web-based clearinghouse of mentoring seminars and resources (MedEdMentoring.org). This report discusses implications of and principles for disseminating these programs, including examples of replications in fields besides GMH research.The "graying of America"-the growth of the oldest cohorts of the U.S. populationconstitutes one of the greatest public health challenges of our generation. By the year 2030, it is predicted that approximately 20% of the U.S. population will be more than 65 years old,1 and one-fifth of that older population-some 15 million persons-will have a mood, anxiety, or psyc...
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