Digitally interconnected tertiary old age mental healthcare services and primary healthcare services for seniors in remote areas in Greece: An exportable model?

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundEven though communities in remote areas across the globe age, old age mental healthcare services are mainly tertiary‐ or secondary hospital‐ based and subsequently not easily accessible by seniors with mental disorders living in such communities.MethodsThe INTegRated InterveNtion of pSychogerIatric Care (INTRINSIC) network embodies a model of digitally interconnected tertiary old age mental healthcare services and primary healthcare services for seniors in remote areas in Greece. It is coordinated by the Division of Old age mental health of the 1st Department of Psychiatry of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. INTRINSIC network is built around five pillars: The digital platform, bridging healthcare professionals, service users and communities; The old age mental health risk factor surveillance system, enabling the generation of a map of mental health problems of older adults living in each remote community and the initiation of the adequate treatment; the Modified Problem Adaptation Therapy (M‐PATH) intervention; Hearing and vision assessment and support of service users; and an advocacy body consisting of service users, their care partners and families and active members of the local communities. The initial, six‐month phase of INTRINSIC is funded by the Greek Ministry of Health.Results298 seniors living in remote areas of four different Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics 2 (NUTS2) regions have been enrolled in INTRINSIC. They are on average 71.8 years old and 30.5% of them are males. Approximately 18% and 26% of INSTRINSIC service users suffer from depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively; 62.3% complained about cognitive decline. Of note, only in 8% of service users the diagnosis of dementia had been established prior their enrolment, while 33.2% were treated with antidepressants.ConclusionBased on amplification of existing resources through the cooperation of tertiary‐ and primary healthcare professionals who share a vision of change, the INTRINSIC model offers a pragmatic opportunity to provide high quality old age healthcare services to seniors living in remote communities. The still ongoing collection and analyses of service users’ data may provide a solid foundation for INTRINSIC feasibility and sustainability