Means and Methods of Diagnosing and Treating Psychogeriatric Patients Living in the Community

Abstract

As is well known, Berlin (West) is the larger part of a divided city that, until the end of World War II, was the capital of Germany. It now has about 1.98 million inhabitants, 55.6% of whom are female and 44.4%, male. The mean age of the inhabitants is 45.7 years for females and 37.7 years for males; 22.9% of the people are over 65 (females, 28%; males, 15.7%) in other words, approximately 448,000 people now living in Berlin (West) are older than 65. Although the total number of the aged has remained constant, the proportion in the highest age groups continues to increase: there are 380 persons over the age of 90 per 100,000 of the population, i.e., a total of 7,320 people. Berlin (West) is divided into 12 districts, each having approximately 200,000 inhabitants. Our Gerontopsychiatric Department is situated in Charlottenburg, in the inner city, but generally does not confine its activities to this particular district. However, long distances prevent many patients from using the programs and services available to them.