Psychiatric Problems in the Nursing Home

Handbook of Neuropsychology and Aging

“…Women tend to have higher rates of depression in all age groups, but there may not be a statistically significant difference in rates of depression between the sexes after the age of 65. In addition to those older individuals meeting criteria for major depression, nearly one in five nursing home residents meet the criteria for major depression, and 20% to 35% of older adults with significant medical illness are depressed (Grossberg et al, 1990;Moffie & Paykel, 1975). Twenty-seven percent of elderly persons experience dysphoria and/or a subsyndromal affective disorder .…”

Mental Health in Nursing Homes

“…Many could be described as demoralised, with depressive manifestations such as bitterness, apathy, anger, withdrawal, somatisation, fears and agitation. Anxiety (frequently associated with medical disorders) is a common cause for psychiatric consultation in nursing homes (Grossberg et al 1990); about 20% of residents are said to exhibit some degree of anxiety (Ouslander et al 1991). In Graycar and Glover's (1987) Australian study of 1000 nursing home residents, 53% were said to have emotional problems (e.g.…”

Treating severe behavioral disorders in geriatric residential settings

“…It may function as a means of obtaining sensory feedback, or as a result of observing other wanderers in the environment (Hussian & Davis, 1985). Others hypothesize that wandering may be triggered by environmental "stressors" or too much sensory stimulation (Clear, Clamon, Price, & Shullaw, 1988), or that it represents a "search for home" (Grossberg et al, 1990). Just as there are likely to be residents who wander for any of the above reasons, there needs to be systematic investigations of a variety of intervention options.…”

“…One popular approach to the management of wandering involves redesigning the environment to allow limited wandering without danger to the resident or intrusion on other residents' privacy (Grossberg et al, 1990). Some of the features of environments thought to be conducive to safe wandering include, salient signs for safe ward locations (e.g., bathroom, own bedroom, dining room); dutch doors which permit visual, but not physical access; specified location for wandering (i.e., wandering garden or wandering lounge); and doormonitoring and locking systems.…”