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The admission of the elderly to places of care: a socio-psychiatric community survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

L. S. Gillis ,
R. Elk ,
L. Trichard ,
K. Le Fevre ,
A. Zabow ,
H. Joffe  and
D. J. Van Schalkwyk
L. S. Gillis*
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
R. Elk
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
L. Trichard
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
K. Le Fevre
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
A. Zabow
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
H. Joffe
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
D. J. Van Schalkwyk
Affiliation:
Medical Research Council Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa
*
1Address for correspondence: Professor L. S. Gillis, MRC Clinical Psychiatry Research Unit, Groote Schuur Hospital, Observatory 7925, South Africa.
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Synopsis

Elderly persons over the age of 60 who were admitted for psychiatric care were compared with a random sample of persons living in the same community in respect of psychiatric, medical and socio-economic variables. The group admitted to hospital for psychiatric reasons was very similar to the latter in general characteristics. However, those people admitted to old age homes, which are the other major resource for psychiatric illness, constitute a distinctly separate population, being older and having considerably more physical illnesses and socio-economic problems. Factors predicting admission to an old age home were largely irremediable age-related conditions (dementia, physical infirmity, etc.), but there were also adverse social circumstances, including marked isolation and a lack of social and emotional support. A comparative analysis of the many psychiatric, social and medical factors is presented, with particular reference to reasons for referral and prevention of admission.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , February 1982 , pp. 159 - 168
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

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