Mental illness among elderly : A qualitative study focusing on cooperation around mental illness of elderly people

The aim of this study was to describe and analyze how the municipality's elderly care, primary care and volunteer organizations work and cooperate with each other and elderly caretaker regarding mental illness, with the purpose to pay attention to, manage and prevent mental illness for the elderly. In order to achieve the purpose of this study a qualitative research was used. The empirical material was collected through four qualitative interviews, which were held with two volunteer organizations and one doctor and one nurse from the primary care. Two vignette studies were held with elderly-care workers. One study conducted in a small municipality and the other in a bigger municipality, both in Kalmar county. The study results were analyzed using the following theories: stigma and social exclusion, the power of diagnosis, social psychiatric field and cooperation. The results of this study show that the municipality and county council do work and cooperate to prevent and address mental illness among the elderly. However, there may be a better and more interaction with psychiatry in order to further and more effective manage the problems. Those who were interviewed feel that through continuity, motivation and collaboration they work to prevent and detect mental illness, but that competence is not always enough when it comes to how mental illness shall be managed when it emerges. Our conclusion is that by addressing the question of resources at national level and increase available resources to actors dealing with the mental health of elderly people, better cooperation can be created, leading to improved care for the elderly