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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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'Beating the Lows in Later Life'
— evaluation of a mental health awareness raising campaign aimed at OAs | | Author(s) | Mary Hughes, Fionnuala Edgar |
| Journal title | Faculty for the Psychology of Older People (FPOP) Newsletter, no 125, January 2014 |
| Publisher | British Psychological Society, January 2014 |
| Pages | pp 58-65 |
| Source | www.bps.org.uk |
| Keywords | Cognitive impairment ; Referrals ; Awareness [services] ; Publicity ; Evaluation ; Dumfries and Galloway. |
| Annotation | Prevalence rates for mental health difficulties among older adults (OAs) are high, with over a third experiencing symptoms of mental illness (Age Concern, 2007). Within Dumfries and Galloway, OAs are under-represented, relative to working age adults, in referrals to the psychology service. Under-referred has been suggested to arise as a consequence of direct and indirect stigma and ageist attitudes towards mental health problems in OAs. This study aimed to explore perceptions of OAs in relation to mental health stigma and barriers to treatment. The authors also aimed to evaluate the impact of a pilot local mental health awareness-raising campaign, 'Beating the Lows in Later Life' on referral rates to psychology and guided self-help services. Surveys were made available in both an electronic and print format to community-dwelling OAs , via general practitioner (GP) surgery waiting rooms, public libraries and electronic distribution to members of two local branches of the University of the Third Age (U3A). Referral rates in the period following the awareness training campaign (May-June 2013) were compared with those in the same period of the previous year. 32 respondents completed the survey. Despite no significant differences in referral rates following the campaign, respondents reported increased confidence in help-seeking and decreased perceptions of mental health stigma. Lack of awareness about service available, acceptance of anxiety of depression are normal, mobility issues and stigma were reported as being key barriers to treatment-seeking by OAs. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-150529210 A |
| Classmark | E4: L5R: QLA: U7: 4C: 9SW |
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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