Elderly people with mental illness in South-East Asia: rethinking a model of care

Abstract

The report World Population Ageing 1950–2050 (United Nations, 2002) estimated that in 2005 there were 37.3 million elderly people (i.e. aged 65 years or more) in South-East Asia (a region incorporating Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam). There are only a few epidemiological studies on mental disorders among elderly people in this region and the published data are mainly from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Using Singapore's prevalence rate of 3% for dementia and 5.7% for depression, the numbers of elderly people with dementia in this region would be 1.2 million and with depression 2.12 million (Kua, 1992; Kua & Ko, 1995). However, even in Singapore, we have identified only 10% of all potential cases of dementia and depression — meaning that the large majority of elderly people with mental disorders are not detected, although they may be known, for other reasons, to the health services.

Mental health promotion for elderly populations in World Health Organization South-East Asia Region: Needs and resource gaps

“…The WHO SEARO caters to nearly one-fourth of the global population and is primarily affected by war, terrorism, political crisis, natural calamities, unemployment, and poverty[ 10 ]. The training for and teaching about geriatric mental health in the medical curriculum in South-East Asia are also inadequate, which affects the care of the elderly population[ 11 ]. Another major challenge of developing countries is that a large chunk of the geriatric population seeks help from nonqualified persons and traditional healers for their mental ailments[ 11 ].…”

“…The training for and teaching about geriatric mental health in the medical curriculum in South-East Asia are also inadequate, which affects the care of the elderly population[ 11 ]. Another major challenge of developing countries is that a large chunk of the geriatric population seeks help from nonqualified persons and traditional healers for their mental ailments[ 11 ]. Many South Asian countries, such as Japan, Singapore, China, Malaysia, and Thailand, have undertaken initiatives to develop country-specific policies to protect the rights of the elderly population and provide them with quality care[ 12 ].…”

Suicide in the geriatric population of South East Asia - contexts and attributes

“…3 The elderly population in South East Asia is rapidly growing and the number of elderly people with mental illness and/or medical comorbidities is also increasing rapidly. 4 Hence, it is anticipated that the number of suicides among the elderly population will grow significantly. So, it is obvious that the contexts and attributes of suicide in the elderly population will be different from that of adult population.…”