Thavody Jayakrishnan, Chandran Priya, Tharayil Harish M, Mohan Neethu, Prabakaran Anusha
Dept. of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Manjeri, Kerala, India.
Dept. of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Kozhikode, Kerala, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2023 Jul;45(4):360-365. doi: 10.1177/02537176221143340. Epub 2023 Feb 1.
Older adults with serious mental illness (OASMI) have to manage the twin challenges of old age and mental illness. Understanding their characteristics will help policymakers and researchers plan tailored interventions. The profile of OASMI is not described in any publication from India, and this paper addresses that gap. The information from this study will serve as a baseline for the planned periodic follow-up of the study participants.
This study employed a cross- sectional design among a sample of OASMI identified through multistage cluster sampling from three districts in Kerala. We interviewed them in their households and collected sociodemographic data using a pretested tool.
Among the 917 OASMI participants, 66% were females, 18% were the 'oldest-old' (≥80 years), 94.1% were unemployed, 51.7% were socially backward, 68.5% were financially weak, 10.1% were living alone, 59.4% were living without partners, and 63.7% had caregivers.
Compared to the general population of older adults in Kerala, the OASMI have poorer socioeconomic status and higher rates of social isolation, and males are dying earlier. The profile of the OASMI depicts their multiple vulnerabilities and the need to address those.
患有严重精神疾病的老年人（OASMI）必须应对衰老和精神疾病这两大挑战。了解他们的特征将有助于政策制定者和研究人员制定针对性的干预措施。印度的任何出版物都未描述过OASMI的概况，本文填补了这一空白。本研究的信息将作为对研究参与者进行定期随访计划的基线。
本研究采用横断面设计，在通过多阶段整群抽样从喀拉拉邦三个地区确定的OASMI样本中进行。我们在他们家中对他们进行访谈，并使用经过预测试的工具收集社会人口学数据。
在917名OASMI参与者中，66%为女性，18%为“高龄老人”（≥80岁），94.1%失业，51.7%社会地位落后，68.5%经济薄弱，10.1%独自生活，59.4%没有伴侣，63.7%有照顾者。
与喀拉拉邦的老年普通人群相比，OASMI的社会经济地位较差，社会隔离率较高，男性死亡更早。OASMI的概况描述了他们的多重脆弱性以及应对这些问题的必要性。
