Mental disorders in the nursing home: another perspective.
OBJECTIVE
Many studies of the prevalence of mental disorders among residents of long-term care facilities have had substantial methodological shortcomings. This study was conducted to replicate a previous well-designed study and to examine additional characteristics of nursing home residents.


METHODS
Randomly selected residents (N = 80) in a public long-term care facility were evaluated by a psychiatric team using DSM-III-R criteria and quantitative assessments of behavior and cognitive status.


RESULTS
Of the 80 subjects, 91% had at least one psychiatric diagnosis and at least one behavioral problem; 50% had four or more behavioral problems. In addition, 29% had received psychiatric care before admission, and 61% received psychiatric care after admission.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings replicate those of the few prior studies that used analogous research techniques, but those previous studies were conducted in private, intermediate-care institutions whose residents had different demographic characteristics. The mental health needs of these residents are substantial and should be addressed by the medical community and the nursing home industry.
Tariot
P N
PN
Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, N.Y.
Podgorski
C A
CA
Blazina
L
L
Leibovici
A
A
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006276:Health Facility Size; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011897:Random Allocation