How well do older adults recognise mental illness? A literature review

Abstract

Older adults tend to underutilise mental health services. Mental health literacy plays a critical role in identifying and overcoming barriers to accessing mental health care. The ability to recognise mental illness is an essential component of mental health literacy, with important implications to whether the person will seek professional help. We conducted a review of the literature on older adults’ abilities to recognise mental illness. Of the 421 papers that were retrieved in the comprehensive search in PubMed, 32 studies met inclusion criteria. Studies were heterogeneous in terms of target population and methodology, yet findings show that older adults are less likely to correctly recognise mental disorders. Cueing older participants with mental labels improved their recognition abilities. Recognition was particularly poor among immigrant and ethnic/racial older adults, likely due to linguistic and cultural barriers. Our findings demonstrate that older adults show low levels of mental illness recognition and tend to view some illnesses as normal parts of aging. Findings emphasise the need for developing educational programs tailored by the specific phenomenology, conceptualisations and cultural meanings of mental illness among older adults, with attention to informal sources of information and social networks.

Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

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Two Decades of Change in Living Arrangements and Health of Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the U.S., 1997–2018

“…This study fills an important gap in the literature on living arrangements and health among middle-aged and older Americans. While the focus on multiple health outcomes gives a more comprehensive overview of health of middle-aged and older adults over time, capturing the different dimensions of health across the life course can be challenging, particularly considering differences by age group in the experiences and reports of symptoms (Malkin et al, 2019). Future research should explore trends in wider range of health outcomes, analyzing multiple indicators of physical health, mental wellbeing, physical functioning.…”

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