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The Role of Community- and Home-Based Interventions in Late-Life Depression
Book chapter

The Role of Community- and Home-Based Interventions in Late-Life Depression

Laura N Gitlin
The Oxford Handbook of Depression and Comorbidity
18 Jun 2014

Abstract

behavioral approaches Clinical Psychology community-based approaches Counselling Psychology depression Health Psychology home-based approaches late-life depression mental health disparities psychosocial approaches underserved populations
Depressive disorders are highly prevalent and among the most debilitating conditions in late life. If untreated, depression has profound effects on quality of life and health; it also increases the risk for dementia, other comorbidities, functional decline, and mortality. Although primary care is the principal setting for the detection and treatment of depression, older adults and particularly, minorities do not always receive evidence-based treatment guidelines. Thus, new care models are urgently needed. This chapter considers the role of community- and home-based approaches to depression care, their theoretical underpinnings and advantages, and exemplary programs. Twenty-three rigorously tested community- and home-based interventions with positive depression outcomes are identified, suggesting a robust and growing evidence base. Community- and home-based approaches may overcome persistent mental health disparities by reaching underserved populations, minimizing stigma by normalizing depression detection and delivering treatments at home, and increase access to nonpharmacological approaches—such as psychosocial and behavioral approaches—f or older adults who are at risk for or have late-life depression.

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