title: Using the law to promote the mental health of older adults during disasters.
abstract: Disasters may disproportionately impact older adults due to sensory deficits, diminished social support networks, financial limitations, and displacement from familiar environments. During and shortly after a disaster, older adults' mental health needs may be overlooked for varied reasons, including concerns about stigma and lack of information about available services. Law can protect the mental health of older adults in disaster and non-disaster circumstances, but it sometimes may frustrate efforts to address older adults' mental health concerns. This article analyzes three areas - Medicare services, staffing shortages, and continuity of prescription medications - in which the law has the potential to promote the mental health of older adults during disasters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Lainie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rutkow
authors.forename: Jon S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Vernick
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Spira
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004189:Disaster Planning; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005853:Geriatrics; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce