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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Community study of people who live in squalor | | Author(s) | Graeme Halliday, Sube Banerjee, Michael Philpot |
| Journal title | The Lancet, vol 355, no 9207, 11 March 2000 |
| Pages | pp 882-886 |
| Keywords | Self care capacity ; Mental disorder ; Home care services ; Cross sectional surveys ; Lewisham. |
| Annotation | Reasons why people live in squalor (Diogenes syndrome) have been the subject of much debate but little systematic research, other than reports of cases from secondary health services. The authors did a cross-sectional study of clients of the local authority special cleaning service in Lewisham. Levels of domestic squalor and self-neglect were measured with the living conditions rating scale, and diagnoses of mental disorder using WHO's schedules for clinical assessment in neuropsychiatry (SCAN). Of 91 people eligible for inclusion, 81 from 76 households consented and were interviewed (89% response rate). 41 (51%) were younger than 65; 57 (70%) were diagnosed as having a mental disorder at interview, as defined by the SCAN; and 21 (26%) had a physical health problem which contributed significantly to the unclean state of their living environment. Those who live in squalor and who receive special cleaning services have high rates of mental disorder, and squalor affects younger as well as older people. Living in squalid conditions in the group was generally associated with a mental or physical disorder. Possible deficits in health care received should be further examined. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-000323204 A |
| Classmark | CA: E: NH: 3KB: 82LO * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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