Less than three percent of Australians with mental health conditions living in residential aged care facilities access government-subsidised mental health services, an analysis by South Australian researchers has found.
The lead author of the study and psychology registrar and epidemiologist from Flinders University, Dr. Monica Cations, said aged care residents are four times more likely to suffer from depression and nine times more likely to have anxiety disorders than the general population of elderly Australians.
“Despite this, less than three percent of residents with a mental health condition in our cohort accessed funding subsidies for mental health services provided by GPs, psychiatrists, or allied health professionals, in contrast to almost 10 percent of the general population,” she said in a Flinders University release on Wednesday….