Open AccessIdentifying psychological distress in elderly seeking health care
Author(s) -
Prafulla Shivakumar,
Shilpa Sadanand,
Srikala Bharath,
N Girish,
Mathew Varghese
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
indian journal of public health/indian journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.381
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 2229-7693
pISSN - 0019-557X
DOI - 10.4103/0019-557x.152849
Subject(s) - general health questionnaire , distress , medicine , psychiatry , psychological distress , health care , cutoff , mental health , clinical psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , economics , economic growth
Psychological distress in the elderly with various illness conditions often goes unrecognized. Since psychological distress is treatable, it is important to recognize it at the earliest to enhance recovery. This is an interim analysis of screening data of the elderly seeking health care in a hospital in India, with a focus on the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), a screening instrument for psychological distress and a rationale for a higher cutoff score in help seeking elderly.