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Release
Reducing Depression in
Homebound Older Adults Subject of UAlbany
Study
UAlbany Center receives
$1 million from the National Institute of Mental
Health
Contact:
Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
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| Zvi Gellis, third from left, is shown
here in this 2003 photo with members of
his research team that found high rates
of depressive symptoms in medically ill
adults who were 65 years old and older
and receiving home health care services.
From left: Jean McGinty, director of St.
Peter's Home health care; Jean Burton,
medical social worker with the St. Peter's
Homecare agency; Gellis; home care supervisor
Linda Tierney; social worker Elizabeth
Misener; and Alison Ruggiero, Gellis's
graduate social work assistant. |
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 14, 2005) - UAlbany researchers
funded by the National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH) will study and evaluate a depression
treatment program for older homebound medically
ill adults. The School of Social Welfare's
Zvi Gellis, director of the Center for Mental
Health and Aging, will collaborate with Martha
Bruce of Cornell University’s Weill Medical
College, Elizabeth Misener of Albany Medical
College, and St. Peter’s Hospital’s
Jean McGinty, Lynda Tierney, Cindy Jordan,
and Jean Burton to conduct the research, set
to begin in May 2005.
A previous study of patients of St. Peter’s
Health Care Center by researchers at University
at Albany’s Center for Mental Health
and Aging demonstrated that high rates of depressive
symptoms (27.5 percent) were found in medically
ill older adults sixty-five years and older
receiving home health care services.
Gellis is slated to receive $1 million from
NIMH, the nation’s leading federal agency
for research on mental and behavioral disorders,
over a five year period to develop and implement
the research study. The aim is to test an evidence-based
treatment for late life depression that is
especially pertinent for social workers as
they confront the challenge of providing evidence-based
services to an aging population.
“Common mental disorders in late life
include depression and anxiety” said
Gellis. “Suicide among the elderly, particularly
among men, is a serious concern in our society.
Depression, isolation, loneliness, lack of
social supports and declining physical disabilities
are some of the probable factors. Moreover,
a critical shortage exists of professional
staff trained in the geriatric mental health
field to meet this looming national public
health crisis. The number of older adults with
significant psychiatric disorders is anticipated
to increase significantly in the next decade
and remains a serious public health concern.”
Current estimates of the incidence of mental
illness among older persons range from 15 to
25 percent. In addition, only 2.5 percent receive
assistance from traditional mental health services
and only 2 percent of older adults receive
help for mental health problems in primary
care settings and rarely in home care. The
large anticipated growth in the number of older
persons makes the provision of mental health
services to older adults increasingly important.
Combining this growth with an increased rate
of emotional disorders magnifies the problem.
For more information on the Center for Mental
Health and Aging, visit www.albany.edu/ssw/research/centerformentalhealthandaging.htm
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