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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access originally published online on October 9, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2009 64B(6):704-712; doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp073
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Perceived Need for Mental Health Care Among Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Melissa M. Garrido1,2, Robert L. Kane2, Merrie Kaas3 and Rosalie A. Kane2

1 Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
2 Division of Health Policy & Management, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
3 School of Nursing, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis

Address correspondence to Melissa M. Garrido, PhD, Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 30 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Email: mnelson{at}ifh.rutgers.edu


  Abstract

Only half of older adults with a mental disorder use mental health services, and little is known about the causes of perceived need for mental health care (MHC). We used logistic regression to examine relationships among depression, anxiety, chronic physical illness, alcohol abuse and/or dependence, sociodemographics, and perceived need among a national sample of community-dwelling individuals 65 years of age and older (the Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys data set). Less than half of respondents with depression or anxiety perceived a need for care. Perceived need was greater for respondents with more symptoms of depression regardless of whether they met diagnostic criteria for a mental illness. History of chronic physical conditions, history of depression or anxiety, and more severe mental illness were associated with greater perceived need for MHC. Future studies of perceived need should account for individual perceptions of mental illness and treatment and the influence of social networks.

Key Words: Anxiety • Attitudes • Beliefs • Depression • Mental health

Received November 10, 2008; Accepted July 27, 2009

Decision Editor: Rosemary Blieszner, PhD


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