Responses to the mental health challenges of older adults

Introduction

Mental health care for older adults in our society faces a series of significant challenges. It is therefore urgent to reconsider how we address the complexity involved in supporting older individuals experiencing emotional distress and mental health disorders, while also taking into account the issues related to frailty and vulnerability at this stage of life. This reality calls for political, social, and healthcare decisions that promote more comprehensive and coordinated care, with a preventive and integrative approach.

In this report, we identify ten key challenges in the field of mental health care for older adults. A diverse group of experts reflects on these challenges, offering insights, analyses, and conclusions to inform the decision-making process. Based on these reflections, a Decalogue on mental health and aging is presented at the end of the report.

• Challenge 1 | New needs for an aging society

  Manuel Martín Carrasco

• Challenge 2 | Care with respect

  Bernabé Robles del Olmo

• Challenge 3 | Breaking the isolation

  Glòria García Melguizo, Cristina Castellón Chicano, Raquel Coma Roura

• Challenge 4 | Primary care: key to active aging

  Dra. Carolina Mir Sánchez

• Challenge 5 | Mental health in old age: challenges for the social and healthcare system

  Manuel Sánchez Pérez

• Challenge 6 | When caring demands more

  Núria Codorniu Zamora, María Edineia Merlo, Raquel Alcalá Sola

• Challenge 7 | Equity in times of longevity

  Dra. Natalia Rosetti Maffioli

• Challenge 8 | Cognition and aging: current approaches

  Dra. Maite Garolera Freixa, Dra. Elisabet López-Soley

• Challenge 9 | New scenarios for coexistence

  Conchita Peña Gallardo

• Challenge 10 | Old age, stigma and mental health

  Bàrbara Mitats Carmona, Montserrat Celdrán Castro