Geriatric psychiatry subspecialization in Canada: past, present, and future.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the development, future challenges, and directions of geriatric psychiatry in Canada. METHOD: This review and description of geriatric psychiatry was developed in the context of the criteria established by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for subspecialization applications. Information from key informants, both nationally and internationally, was combined with a review of relevant literature in the field. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Canada has provided important contributions to the field of geriatric psychiatry in Canada and abroad. The increased needs of older persons with severe mental illness and their families, combined with a significant body of knowledge and therapeutic options, provide an important foundation for further development. Subspecialization in geriatric psychiatry as part of the overall development of psychiatry in Canada is proposed as critical to meeting the challenges of our aging population.

A community development and outreach program in geriatric mental health: four years' experience.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a geriatric mental health outreach program based on a community development model and to review 4 years of experience with this program. DESIGN: Program model and description of implementation experience. SETTINGS: A geriatric mental health outreach program of a regional psychiatric hospital, serving a primarily non-urban area, with offices in the community it serves. PARTICIPANTS: The program targets community-dwelling or institutionalized older persons with late-onset mental health problems and/or behavioral disturbances, persons with long-standing psychiatric disorders with age-related changes, and their caregivers. INTERVENTION: The program is a geriatric mental health outreach and consultation service that emphasizes community development and caregiver education. Program components include an interprofessional consultation team, a specialized information and resource service, educational service initiatives, and an ongoing role in planning and coordination activity in the local health care system. MEASUREMENTS: Program monitoring, including a patient database and a description of program activities. RESULTS: Cognitive impairment, behavioral disturbance, physical/medical problems and depression are the most common reasons for referral to the outreach program. Referred patients (mean age 78; 65% female) have usually (almost 90% of cases) been managed at a similar or lower level of care. Program activities have included focused educational initiatives in community and institutional settings and have emphasized the involvement and development of community caregivers and other local resources. CONCLUSION: The program is a multifaceted effort to make efficient use of scarce specialized resources in a manner that is sensitive and responsive to local circumstances and needs. Experience to date has shown evidence of the feasibility and potential benefits of a comprehensive approach to community development and outreach in geriatric mental health.

Geriatric psychiatry consultation in the community.

While increasing emphasis is being placed on geriatric psychiatry consultation and outreach services, there is considerable variation in terms of the composition and direction of these programs. Programs vary in terms of their objectives, location, target population, use of health professions and other resources and their method of consultation. The purposes of this paper are to review the characteristics of existing programs, to review the needs of the targets of consultation and to consider theoretical and methodological approaches which have been found to be useful in mental health/psychiatric consultation, in continuing medical education, and in program evaluation. On the basis of this review, future directions for effective approaches to consultative outreach in geriatric psychiatry will then be proposed.

Acute decompensation in dementia: recognition and management.

Dementing illnesses are chronic disorders causing global impairment of intellectual function. The most common cause is Alzheimer's disease, and this, together with most other forms of dementing illness, is relentlessly progressive. Frequently, however, there is an abrupt deterioration in physical, behavioral, or cognitive function in someone who is known to suffer from a dementing illness. This article outlines an approach to the many factors capable of producing such acute decompensation.