Abstract:

Objective To explore the effects of community mental health services on the mental health of the elderly. Methods Four resident committees of Longhua Street community of Xuhui District in Shanghai were randomly selected and a total of 1 431 subjects were enrolled and finished the study according to the principle of voluntary and informed consent. Subjects were randomly divided into the observation group (n=692) and control group (n=739). The observation group received a series of community mental health services. Subjects were evaluated by the patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), generalized anxiety disorder screening scale-7 (GAD-7), and general well-being schedule (GWB) at baseline and by the end of 6 months and 12 months. Results ①Intra-group comparison of the GWB scores indicated that for the observation group, the differences of scores of worries about health, vigor, satisfaction of and interest in life, doldrums or pleasant mood, and relaxation and tension (anxiety) were statistically significant (P=0.00), except the control of the emotions and behavior (F=0.32, P=0.63). For the control group, the differences of scores of worries about health (F=4.33, P=0.02) and relaxation and tension (anxiety) (F=154.26, P=0.00) were statistically significant. ②Inter-group comparison of the GWB scores indicated that by the end of 6 months, scores of worries about health and doldrums or pleasant mood of the observation group were remarkably better than those of the control group and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01). By the end of 12 months, scores of satisfaction of and interest in life, worries about health, doldrums or pleasant mood, and relaxation and tension (anxiety) of the observation group were remarkably better than those of the control group and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01). ③For the observation group, the total score of PHQ-9 (F=1 603.27) and total score of GAD-7 (F=653.68) at baseline and by the end of 6 and 12 months decreased, while the total score of GWB (F=2 158.86) increased. The differences before and after intervention were statistically significant (P<0.01). The differences of the control group were not statistically significant (F=0.42, P=0.57; F=1.29, P=0.28; F=3.69, P=0.06). ④The differences of scores of PHQ-9, GAD-7, and GWB at baseline between two groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05), while the differences of scores by the end of 6 and 12 months between two groups were statistically significant (P<0.01). Conclusion The implementation of community mental health services can improve the mental health status of the elderly and the effect of persistent implementation will be more remarkable.

Key words: community, mental health services, depression, anxiety, happiness