Abstract
Of all long-term care settings, the nursing home has served as the most productive laboratory for the study of the mental health problems of late life. Lessons from geriatric psychiatry research and practice in the nursing home have relevance to general psychiatry and to other health care settings, informing us about (a) psychiatric disorders in medically ill and disabled populations; (b) subsyndromes and subtypes of depression; (c) behavioral disturbances in patients with brain injury; (d) the effects of government regulation and education on mental health care; and (e) essential roles for psychiatrists in changing health care systems. Selected areas of knowledge based on geriatric psychiatry research and experience in long term care are reviewed in this paper, and their applications for the field of psychiatry in general are explored.
MeSH terms
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Aged
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Antipsychotic Agents / therapeutic use
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Clinical Trials as Topic / standards
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Comorbidity
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Dementia / complications
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Depression / classification
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Depression / complications
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Depression / therapy
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Disabled Persons
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Drug and Narcotic Control
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Geriatric Assessment
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Geriatric Psychiatry* / standards
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Geriatric Psychiatry* / statistics & numerical data
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Health Care Reform / legislation & jurisprudence
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Health Services for the Aged / standards
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Health Services for the Aged / supply & distribution
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Health Status
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Homes for the Aged* / legislation & jurisprudence
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Homes for the Aged* / standards
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Homes for the Aged* / statistics & numerical data
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Humans
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Long-Term Care / standards
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Long-Term Care / statistics & numerical data
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Mental Disorders / epidemiology
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Mental Health Services / standards
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Mental Health Services / supply & distribution
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Nursing Homes* / legislation & jurisprudence
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Nursing Homes* / standards
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Nursing Homes* / statistics & numerical data
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Referral and Consultation
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Social Behavior Disorders / etiology
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Social Behavior Disorders / therapy
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Workforce