MedicineGeriatric MedicinePsychiatryDementiaGeriatricsGerontologyInpatient Psychiatric CareMedication UseGeriatric Inpatient CareHome-based Psychiatric Care
Improvement in medical care and general living conditions has definitely lengthened the average span of human life. Each year a greater percentage of the population reaches advanced ages, and statistics indicate that this trend will continue. Consequently there are constantly increasing numbers of persons subject to degenerative changes, especially in the central nervous system. Therefore, there has been an ever increasing demand for admission of aged patients to private and public mental institutions, and at the present time more than one-third of all persons first admitted to public mental hospitals in the United States are over 65 years of age. The magnitude of the important problem posed by this group needs no further emphasis, but it becomes even clearer if one considers that, for each person whose condition requires care in a mental hospital, there must be several others who can be cared for at home and who are not