Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, RTO 9116A, 9500 Gilman Dr., La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Psychiatr Serv. 2010 Nov;61(11):1146-9. doi: 10.1176/ps.2010.61.11.1146.
The need for adequate mental health services for older adults is an increasingly urgent issue as the life expectancy of Americans continues to extend; yet there are unresolved questions regarding the public's perception of service needs. The Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry collaborated with advice columnist Jeannie Phillips of "Dear Abby" to invite public feedback on mental health services for the elderly. Feedback was invited on access to services as well as perceived need for improvement in the quality or quantity of those services. The effort resulted in 800 responses that identified three primary issues: problems in accessing care, inadequate detection of mental health conditions by general practitioners, and a need for more psychotherapy services. It is hoped that this Open Forum will stimulate discussion throughout the country for the benefit of older persons with mental health needs as the country grapples with changes to come after the passage of health care reform.
随着美国人的预期寿命持续延长，老年人对充足的心理健康服务的需求成为一个日益紧迫的问题；然而，公众对服务需求的看法仍存在一些悬而未决的问题。美国精神病学协会与“亲爱的艾比”专栏作家珍妮·菲利普斯合作，邀请公众对老年人的心理健康服务提出反馈意见。反馈意见涉及获得服务的机会，以及对提高这些服务的质量或数量的必要性。这一努力收到了 800 条回复，其中确定了三个主要问题：获得护理的问题、全科医生对心理健康状况的检测不足，以及需要更多的心理治疗服务。人们希望，本次公开论坛将在全国范围内引发讨论，以造福有心理健康需求的老年人，因为该国在医疗改革后即将应对未来的变化。
