Older People, Mental Health and Wellbeing
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Older People, Mental Health and Wellbeing
IRAS ID
168404
Contact name
Michael Barber
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 9 days
Research summary
Background:
Health literacy (HL) encompasses the knowledge and skills people need to effectively navigate the healthcare system. Although this concept can be applied across health conditions a specific definition has been developed for mental health: mental health literacy (MHL). MHL is “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention”. Depression affects many older adults however it is under-recognised and under-treated. Improving MHL could improve recognition of depressive symptoms, increase help-seeking behaviour and access to mental health services. This is a relatively new area of research and very little UK research has been done on MHL and older people.
Design: A 2- phase study.
Phase 1: Postal questionnaire
We will recruit 350-400 people aged 65 years+ from the cohort of the Collaborative Care in Screen-Positive Elders (CASPER) study. The people in this cohort have previously been assessed for depression and were not depressed. They have previously agreed to be contacted about taking part in other mental health studies at the University of York. They will be asked to complete a postal questionnaire to assess their MHL and HL and to explore their views on mental health. The data will be analysed using descriptive statistics. At the end of the questionnaire they will be asked to indicate if they would be willing to be contacted about Phase 2.Phase 2:
We will re-contact up to 16 Phase 1 participants and will recruit up to 10 GPs and nurses from three GP practices participating in the CASPER study. Semi-structured interviews will explore the views of older adults about MHL. Health professionals will be asked about their experiences of working with older adults in the context of MHL. These data will be analysed using thematic analysis.
This study is funded by The University of York Pump Priming Fund.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
15/WS/0052
Date of REC Opinion
6 Mar 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion