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Impact of Mental Disorders upon Elderly American Indians as Reflected in Visits to Ambulatory Care Facilities †
Author(s) -
Rhoades Everett R.,
Marshall Melody,
Attneave Carolyn,
Echohawk Marlene,
Bjork John,
Beiser Morton
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1980.tb00121.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ambulatory , gerontology , mental health , population , health care , ambulatory care , age groups , disease , service (business) , demography , psychiatry , environmental health , sociology , economics , economic growth , economy , pathology
In order to assess the impact of mental health problems among elderly American Indians, a study was conducted on the utilization patterns of ambulatory care facilities by various age groups of Indians. Since most health care of Indians is rendered by the Indian Health Service (IHS), data obtained from IHS computer centers provided a reasonable index of disease patterns. Because the elderly have constituted such a small fraction of the Indian population, they have not heretofore received significant attention. However, their problems are rapidly increasing. By adjusting the frequency of visits according to population, an estimate of visit “rates” was made. These rates showed one visit for every 10 persons in the 0–44 age group, one for every 5 persons in the 45–54 age group, but only one visit for every 25 persons in the 65+ age group. Most of the visits by older Indians concerned “social” problems rather than “mental” disorders as such. These data provide information that should prove especially helpful in the design of social and health programs for elderly Indians.