Mental Health in the Elderly

Abstract

Increase in life expectancy, together with a reduction in fertility, is causing unprecedented changes in the age structure of the world population. The importance of age-related diseases, mental illness among them, is increasing – in the developed countries, some 25% of the elderly population suffer from mental disorder. This review delineates the factors – social, behavioural, physical, economic, genetic – contributing to severe forms of mental disorder, particularly Alzheimer's disease, cerebrovascular dementia and depression, and discusses recent technological advances. The interaction of physical and mental health is also discussed.     

Studies in Mental Health Policy

It is intended that the publication of this symposium will result in the involvement of more political scientists and policy analysts in the intriguing, challenging, and important area of mental health policy. The articles in this symposium serve as examples of a few of the areas in mental health that offer both the opportunity for and that would benefit from, more studies of policy issues and processes. Many others exist as well.     

直奔清迈——最适合身心排毒的旅行地

<正>凡尘中粘腻纠葛久了的人,都有颗闲云野鹤的心。在接近年底冬阳灿烂的当口,暂且放下眼前的一切,来一场"说不干就不干"的旅行。杜绝那走马观花疲于奔命的旅游,只精选一处,精心地享受宁静,精致到听得见时光流淌的声音。甩掉身心毒素,让身体和心灵都轻松,宁静喜悦中迎接新年,如迎接新生。有浓郁文化气息的泰国北部小城清迈,能让你收获最自由清净的旅行。初冬的中国北方萧瑟凄清,清迈却仍然热浪温情。这座宁静的泰北小城,随处的自然清新会慢慢让你流露心底最真的本性,在自然中放任灵魂,修复能量。     

The New Mental Health Programme of WHO

Abstract

Over 40 million persons are suffering from severe mental illness allover the world and their number will grow during the next decades. The reasons why their treatment is often neglected and of low priority are reviewed, and research in the subject is criticized as being insufficiently interdisciplinary. During the last three years WHO has developed a new approach to mental health, urging mental health professionals to reorient their philosophy of work. Suggestions for urgent interdisciplinary research projects conclude the review.     

从精神健康看美国华人的文化适应

华人作为美国的一个少数族群,其精神健康状况总体上好于当地主体族群,而其应对方式却较为独特。美国华人应对精神健康问题的态度与方式,从某些侧面反映了他们对主流社会文化的适应情况。作者认为,华人的“选择性同化策略”使他们在一定程度上减缓了主流社会的文化压力,并保持了较为良好的精神健康状态。     

An Analysis of Capitation for Mental Health Services

The major impetus for health care reform clearly seems to be the desire to contain the cost of health care. One of the major cost-containment methods proposed is capitation. Capitation poses specific problems when applied to mental health services delivery. This article discusses several of the major issues pertaining to the utility of capitation in mental health, discusses on-going capitation efforts, and provides an evaluation of capitation programs. Future directions for research on capitation in mental health are then suggested.     

The Integration of Mental Health Care in Rural Iran

Iran’s rural mental health care system emerged in a context that included experiments in health care prior to the 1979 Revolution and the establishment of a primary health care (PHC) system after the Revolution. Beginning in the 1980s, Iran integrated mental health care into the existing PHC system by treating mental illness much like a communicable disease. Iran advanced treatment options compatible with the existing system, added new training for existing care providers, and incorporated specialists. The integration of mental health care led to the rapid improvement of health outcomes. The integration also created the unintended consequence of privileging pharmaceutical treatments and overlooking mental illnesses affected by somatization.     

Mental Health Policy Inquiry, Its Importance, and Its Rewards

This article suggests some characteristics of the field of mental health that might explain why political scientists and public policy analysts have evidenced little interest in the study of mental health policy. Following a brief overview of United States mental health policy, the author makes the case for the importance of menial health policy inquiry on grounds of both pragmatic and theoretical significance.     

The Materiality of Mental Health at the Morrissey World War I Internment Camp

Historical Archaeology - To date, very little is known archaeologically about First World War–era internment camps, especially in Canada, where this history was actively erased through the...     

Effects of U.S. States' Social Welfare Systems on Population Health

Social scientists have studied the welfare state extensively. Many studies seek to understand the determinants of the welfare state; however, a few have explored the social consequences of social welfare systems, especially on health outcomes of the population. Even though cross-national comparative studies support the thesis that the welfare state regime type, which represents different levels of commitment on social welfare, is closely linked to population health, there is little research to support this argument at a sub-national level. To fill the gap, this study explores the effects of the U.S. states' social welfare systems on health using age-adjusted mortality rates as a proxy for population health. By operationalizing social welfare systems as three dimensions—public expenditures, tax structures, and welfare program rules—we find that more generous education spending, progressive tax systems, and more lenient welfare program rules help to improve population health. The model corrects for first-order serial correlation using Prais-Winsten regression methods and is estimated with state and year-fixed effects.     

Belief System Continuity and Change in Policy Advocacy Coalitions: Using Cultural Theory to Specify Belief Systems,Coalitions, and Sources of Change

This paper evaluates the prospects for application of the “grid/group” cultural theory (CT), as advanced by Mary Douglas and Aaron Wildavsky, to the Advocacy Coalition Theory (ACF). CT would seem to be relevant to several key aspects of the ACF: the content of the core beliefs that provide the “glue” that binds coalitions; the resilience of core beliefs and associated implications for belief change and learning; and the structure of coalitions and the mechanisms for coordination and control within them. The paper considers the compatibility of the ACF's account of deep core beliefs and coalition structure with that of CT; surveys an array of empirical studies based on variations of CT; and extends accounts of change in cultural identities from CT to the ACF. In addition, we highlight some of the ways in which the ACF may offer important theoretical insights for scholars of CT, potentially clarifying hypotheses concerning the relationships among basic worldviews, more specific beliefs, and behaviors.     

渝宜段川江水系的历史分布与变迁

重庆至湖北宜昌段川江水系的分布与变迁对长江上游航运、沿岸聚落环境等社会经济均有一定的影响,也是现今三峡库区建设需要认真考察的课题。文章着重对该区域内主要水系的历史名称、河道变化进行考证与辨识,并相应地分析部分河流在航运、灾害方面发生变化的自然因素和人文因素。     

论元明清时期的西南少数民族土司土官制度与改土归流

羁縻职官制度既是我国少数民族传统职官制度的主要形式,也是以皇权统治为核心的封建王朝实行的基本民族政策。元明清时期的西南少数民族土司土官制度是诸朝历代羁縻职官制度的进一步发展和集大成。土司土官制度既是皇权统治下二元结构的职官制度,也是最终将少数民族纳入统一职官制度管理的一种过渡和准备。土司土官制度始于元代,盛行于明代,衰落于清代,其残余一直延续到新中国成立。土司土官制度的兴衰始终与改土归流活动联系在一起。     

Local Production Systems and Organizational Change: Hierarchization and Competing Firm Networks in Marinha Grande,Portugal

European local production systems have evolved and restructured in recent decades. One path of change has been an internal reorganization towards more hierarchization among local firms and the emergence of formal firm networks and an economic reconcentration. This article supports these observations and provides evidence from the mould industry in Marinha Grande, Portugal. The formal firm networks are, however, heterogeneous and they constitute new competitive strategies, that challenge the historical organization and institutions of the industrial districts and local production systems in which small was beautiful.     

Basic Principles of Landscape Mapping

This report of the Permanent Commission on Landscape Maps of the Geographical Society USSR defines four groups of landscape maps and their basic mapped objects, ranging from detailed, large-scale facies maps (1:10,000) to small-scale maps of less than 1:1,000,000 showing mainly landscapes (in the sense of a given rank of natural areal unit). The report defines various physical-geographic units, such as facies, urochishche and mestnost' and the Russian terms have been retained where the meaning is ambiguous and there is no clear-cut English equivalent. The report also discusses various ways of formulating map legends. A previous paper on landscape mapping appeared in Soviet Geography, February 1961, pp. 34–47.