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PTSD in older bereaved people
- Author:
- O'CONNOR Maja
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 14(6), August 2010, pp.670-678.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The prevalence of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in recently bereaved older people and whether the loss of a spouse in old age can lead to PTSD was investigated. 276 bereaved older people (mean age 73 years) from the county of Aarhus in Denmark, contacted two months after bereavement, agreed to participate. The results from this group were compared with a control group of 276 married older people. Prevalence of PTSD and depression was measured through a self-report questionnaire. The results indicated that older bereaved people in the sample were four times more likely to have PTSD than those who were still married. The author concludes that this demonstrates that late life bereavement is a traumatic experience for some, and discusses the results and their implications.
Service provision for elderly depressed persons and political and professional awareness for this subject: a comparison of six European countries
- Author:
- BRAMSFELD Anke
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(5), May 2003, pp.392-401.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Under-treatment of depression in late-life is a subject of rising public health concern throughout Europe. This study investigates and compares the availability of services for depressed elderly persons in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Additionally, it explores factors that might contribute to an adequate services supply for depressed elderly people. Review of the literature and guide supported expert interviews. Analysis of the practice of care provision for depressed elderly persons and of indicators for political and professional awareness, such as university chairs, certification processes and political programmes in gerontopsychiatry. Only Switzerland and the UK offer countrywide community-oriented services for depressed elderly persons. Clinical experience in treating depression in late-life is not regularly acquired in the vocational training of the concerned professionals. Indicators suggest that the medical society and health politics in Switzerland and the UK regard psychiatric disease in the elderly more importantly than it is the case in the other investigated countries. Service provision for depressed elderly persons seems to be more elaborated and better available in countries where gerontopsychiatry is institutionalised to a greater extend in the medical society and health politics.