Formal and informal support for older adults with severe mental illness

Abstract

While formal and informal sources provided adequate services for certain client needs, over 70% of the clients did not receive the correct type of help for some of their needs. Greater communication between mental health care staff and informal caregivers, and the integration of aging network services, is essential for the adequate provision of care to older severely mentally ill (SMI) adults. Education and greater linkages among care providers are necessary so that all service providers are aware of and are able to appropriately respond to the complex multi-level needs experienced by older SMI adults.

Adequacy of Help Received by Individuals with Severe Mental Disorders After a Major Healthcare Reform in Quebec: Predictors and Changes at 5-Year Follow-Up

“…Aging is usually associated with the onset of chronic physical disorders and a loss of autonomy (Bengtsson-Tops and Hansson 1999;Cummings and Kropf 2009). Older individuals with SMDs, as well as those affected also by common mental disorders, are also more likely to be affected by loneliness and stigma (Cummings and Kropf 2009;Wang et al 2005), especially after being transferred to the community.…”

“…Aging is usually associated with the onset of chronic physical disorders and a loss of autonomy (Bengtsson-Tops and Hansson 1999;Cummings and Kropf 2009). Older individuals with SMDs, as well as those affected also by common mental disorders, are also more likely to be affected by loneliness and stigma (Cummings and Kropf 2009;Wang et al 2005), especially after being transferred to the community. Furthermore, while young adulthood is a critical stage for the onset of SMDs (Suvisaari et al 2009), young people with SMDs are often reluctant to seek help (Kessler et al 2001) and more likely to drop out treatment (Edlund et al 2002); this may explain their lower adjusted perceived AHR at T0.…”

Frequency and Associated Factors for Care Giving among Elderly Patients Visiting a Teaching Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan

“…Care Givers can either be formal (paid volunteers associated with a service system) or informal which includes family, friends, neighbors or trust members who provides unpaid care out of love, respect, obligation or friendship to a disabled person [8]. Family members among the Informal Care Givers are of paramount importance in providing care, especially in Pakistani culture and society where family ties and bonding is a norm.…”

Interactions between patients' experiences in mental health treatment and lay social network attitudes toward doctors in recovery from mental illness

“…Conversely, embeddedness in a network that is supportive of formal medical treatment corresponds to more promising recovery outcomes, including improved mental health functioning (Perry & Pescosolido, 2015). Along the same lines, having networks that promote access to accurate, evidencebased information about managing illness symptoms can have beneficial outcomes (Cummings & Kropf, 2009). …”