Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T04:40:50.619Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Twenty-five years of expectation: where are the services for older people with mental illness in Africa?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Thomas Clausen  and
Adrian O. Wilson
Thomas Clausen
Affiliation:
Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF), University of Oslo, Norway, email thomas.clausen@medisin.uio.no
Adrian O. Wilson
Affiliation:
African Foundation for Research and Interdisciplinary Training in Ageing, Harare, Zimbabwe
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Mental health disorders account for about 14% of the global burden of disease. Neuropsychiatric disorders may be responsible for more than 1.2 million deaths annually (Prince et al, 2007). Around 80% of those affected live in low- and middle-income countries. Yet, despite the fact that older persons carry a disproportionate burden of non-communicable disease and mental disorder, they are not seen as priority issues for healthcare provision in these countries. Logically and ethically, older persons should be prioritised for targeted interventions, alongside the generic strengthening of primary and community health provision. African governments, spurred on by the specific agendas of non-governmental and parastatal organisations, continue with more urgent tasks; their healthcare provision is oriented towards the ‘younger generations’ (maternal and child healthcare, and infection). In most African countries, the expenditure specifically targeted for mental health is below 1% of the total healthcare budget, that is, effectively non-existent (Saxena et al, 2007).

Type
Thematic Paper — Care for Elderly People with Mental Illness
Information
International Psychiatry , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , April 2010 , pp. 32 - 34
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits noncommercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2010

References

Bongaarts, J. & Zimmer, Z. (2002) Living arrangements of older adults in the developing world: an analysis of demographic and health survey household surveys. Journals of Gerontology Series B – Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 57, S145–S157.Google Scholar
Clausen, T., Wilson, A. O., Molebatsi, R. M., et al (2007) Diminished mental and physical function and lack of social support are associated with shorter survival in community dwelling older persons in Botswana. BMC Public Health, 7, 144.Google Scholar
Ferreira, M. (2008) Ageing policies in Africa. In Regional Dimensions of the Ageing Situation. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.Google Scholar
Gureje, O., Kola, L. & Afolabi, E. (2007) Epidemiology of major depressive disorder in elderly Nigerians in the Ibadan Study of Ageing: a community-based survey. Lancet, 370, 957–964.Google Scholar
Hendrie, H. C., Ogunniyi, A., Hall, K. S., et al (2001) Incidence of dementia and Alzheimer disease in 2 communities: Yoruba residing in Ibadan, Nigeria, and African Americans residing in Indianapolis, Indiana. JAMA, 285, 739–747.Google Scholar
Levkoff, S. E., MacArthur, I. W. & Bucknall, J. (1995) Elderly mental health in the developing world. Social Science and Medicine, 41, 983–1003.Google Scholar
Patel, V., Araya, R., Chatterjee, S., et al (2007) Treatment and prevention of mental disorders in low-income and middle-income countries. Lancet, 370, 991–1005.Google Scholar
Prince, M., Patel, V., Saxena, S., et al (2007) No health without mental health. Lancet, 370, 859–877.Google Scholar
Saxena, S., Thornicroft, G., Knapp, M., et al (2007) Resources for mental health: scarcity, inequity, and inefficiency. Lancet, 370, 878–889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations (2002) Report of the Second World Assembly on Ageing. United Nations.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.