scholarly journals Promoting older women’s mental health: Insights from Baby Boomers

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245186
Author(s):  
Maggie Kirkman ◽  
Jane Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Women’S Mental Health ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Baby Boomer Generation ◽  
Women's Mental Health

Optimal mental health underpins full social participation. As people age, they confront personal and cultural challenges, the effects of which on mental health are not fully understood. The aim of this research was to learn from women of the Baby Boomer generation (born 1946–1964) what contributes to and hinders their mental health and wellbeing. Eighteen women participated in qualitative interviews (in English); data were analysed thematically. Participants were located across Australia in rural and urban areas; not all were born in Australia. They were diverse in education, employment status, and experiences of life and ageing. The women nominated as the main contributors to poor mental health in older women Illness and disability, Financial insecurity, Maltreatment, and Loss and grief. Contributors to good mental health were identified as Social interdependence, Feeling valued, Physical activity, Good nutrition, and Having faith or belief. Women’s accounts supplied other influences on mental health, both associated with the person (Personality and Intimate relationships and sex) and with society (Constructs of ageing, Gender, and Culture). Women also specified what they needed from others in order to improve their mental health as they aged: Public education about ageing, Purposeful roles for older women in society, Adequate services and resources, and Sensitive health care. In sum, older women wanted to be treated with respect and for their lives to have meaning. It is evident from these results that circumstances throughout life can have profound influences on women’s mental health in older age. Anti-discriminatory policies, informed and inclusive health care, and social structures that support and enhance the lives of girls and women at all ages will therefore benefit older women and increase the potential for their continuing contribution to society. These conclusions have implications for policy and practice in well-resourced countries.

Gender inequalities in depression/anxiety and the consumption of psychotropic drugs: Are we medicalising women’s mental health?

2020 ◽  
pp. 140349482094473
Author(s):  
Amaia Bacigalupe ◽  
Unai Martín
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Psychotropic Drugs ◽  
Prevalence Ratio ◽  
Poor Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Status ◽  
Gender Inequalities ◽  
Women’S Mental Health ◽  
Women's Mental Health

Aims: Clinical studies show that women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety, and to consume prescribed psychotropic drugs. Applying an intersectional perspective that considers age, education and social class, the present study assesses gender inequalities in the diagnosis of depression/anxiety and in psychotropic consumption. Methods: We analysed data from the 2018 Basque Country Health Survey (Spain; n=8014). Prevalence rates of poor mental health, diagnosis of depression/anxiety and psychotropic consumption were calculated for each sex by age and socio-economic status. Poisson regression models were calculated to estimate PRs of these variables in women, adjusted for age, mental health status and health-care visits, and for diagnosis of depression/anxiety in the case of psychotropic drug consumption. Results: Women were 2.48 times more likely than men to be diagnosed with depression or anxiety, and this difference remained significant after adjustments (prevalence ratio (PR)=1.86; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.40–2.47). Women also took significantly more prescribed psychotropic drugs, even controlling for their poorer mental health, their higher prevalence of diagnosis and their more frequent health-care visits (PR=1.52; 95% CI 1.28–1.82). No gender inequalities were observed in those younger than 45 or with the highest level of education. Conclusions: Gender inequalities in the diagnosis and prescription of psychotropic drugs exist, and these cannot be explained by differences in mental-health status or health-care visit frequency. It seems, then, that medicalisation of mental health is occurring among women. Further evidence about the mechanisms that underlie the results is crucial to design truly gender-sensitive health policies that reduce medicalisation of women’s mental health.

scholarly journals Veterans� Attitudes Toward Smartphone App Use for Mental Health Care: Qualitative Study of Rurality and Age Differences (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha L Connolly ◽  
Christopher J Miller ◽  
Christopher J Koenig ◽  
Kara A Zamora ◽  
Patricia B Wright ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Access To Care ◽  
Mental Health Treatment ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Adjunctive Treatment ◽  
Smartphone Apps ◽  
Rural And Urban

BACKGROUND Mental health smartphone apps provide support, skills, and symptom tracking on demand and come at minimal to no additional cost to patients. Although the Department of Veterans Affairs has established itself as a national leader in the creation of mental health apps, veterans’ attitudes regarding the use of these innovations are largely unknown, particularly among rural and aging populations who may benefit from increased access to care. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to examine veterans’ attitudes toward smartphone apps and to assess whether openness toward this technology varies by age or rurality. METHODS We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with 66 veterans from rural and urban areas in Maine, Arkansas, and California. Eligible veterans aged 18 to 70 years had screened positive for postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), alcohol use disorder, or major depressive disorder, but a history of mental health service utilization was not required. Interviews were digitally recorded, professionally transcribed, and coded by a research team using an established codebook. We then conducted a thematic analysis of segments pertaining to smartphone use, informed by existing theories of technology adoption. RESULTS Interviews revealed a marked division regarding openness to mental health smartphone apps, such that veterans either expressed strongly positive or negative views about their usage, with few participants sharing ambivalent or neutral opinions. Differences emerged between rural and urban veterans’ attitudes, with rural veterans tending to oppose app usage, describe smartphones as hard to navigate, and cite barriers such as financial limitations and connectivity issues, more so than urban populations. Moreover, rural veterans more often described smartphones as being opposed to their values. Differences did not emerge between younger and older (≥50) veterans regarding beliefs that apps could be effective or compatible with their culture and identity. However, compared with younger veterans, older veterans more often reported not owning a smartphone and described this technology as being difficult to use. CONCLUSIONS Openness toward the use of smartphone apps in mental health treatment may vary based on rurality, and further exploration of the barriers cited by rural veterans is needed to improve access to care. In addition, findings indicate that older patients may be more open to integrating technology into their mental health care than providers might assume, although such patients may have more trouble navigating these devices and may benefit from simplified app designs or smartphone training. Given the strong opinions expressed either for or against smartphone apps, our findings suggest that apps may not be an ideal adjunctive treatment for all patients, but it is important to identify those who are open to and may greatly benefit from this technology.

Interventions in the Health and Non-health Sectors Aimed at Promoting Mental Health

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S8-S8
Author(s):  
H. Herrman
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Women’S Mental Health ◽  
Women's Mental Health ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
The Impact

The impact of social determinants on women's mental health is becoming clearer worldwide. Poverty, violence and communal insecurity are among the main challenges to women's mental health and the health of their families. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders experienced by women. It typically has an early onset in life and is more frequently found in women made vulnerable by trauma.Improving mental health for women and girls requires early intervention for depression and other mental disorders; with gender sensitive clinical care and support for recovery in primary health care, and mother, child and reproductive health settings. Early intervention in primary health care and collaboration with patients and family carers encourage integration of mental health with the health care system, in turn protective of human rights.In addition, gender equity and observance of human rights need to be embedded in policy and practice in health and non-health sectors to ensure that women's mental health is promoted and mental illnesses adequately prevented and treated. Effective promotion of mental health and prevention of mental disorders is possible in countries of all income levels.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals The Implementation of Antenatal Care with Telehealth Towards Pregnant Women’s Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-118
Author(s):  
Angelia Friksa Tendean ◽  
Arlina Dewi ◽  
Anggit Wirasto
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cochrane Review ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Women’S Mental Health ◽  
Women's Mental Health

Mental health problems among pregnant women must be prevented or managed to prevent more various possible complications that can occur to both mother and fetus, which can be carried out together with Antenatal Care (ANC). Telehealth is a technology-based approach to improving maternal health care. This study aims to discuss the implementation of ANC with telehealth towards pregnant women’s mental health. This study is a literature review conducted by searching databases of PubMed, Proquest, Cochrane Review, and EBSCOhost databases from 2000-2020. The result showed the mode of telehealth had been used varies in nine articles have reviewed, with the most participants were using handphones 56% and computers 11%, and both combination 22%, while application-based 45%, websites 22%, software 11%, internet 11%, and SMS 11%. Implementing telehealth with ANC made it possible to effectively detect early mental health and manage the problem. The result has also shown that telehealth has achieved a good satisfaction level. The common factors that influence telehealth's efficacy include income, education, the age of pregnant women, and gestational age. It can be concluded that telehealth with ANC can effectively improve mental health among pregnant women and be recommended for use by health care providers in pandemic COVID-19.

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