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Attitudes towards mental illness and the elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Robert Cohen
Affiliation:
EMI Directorate, West London Healthcare NHS Trust, Uxbridge Road, Southall, Middlesex UB1 3EU
David Kennard
Affiliation:
Stockley Park West, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB11 1BT
Brice Pitt*
Affiliation:
Academic Unit of Psychiatry, St Mary's Hospital Medical School, St Charles' Hospital, London W10 6DZ
*
Correspondence
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Abstract

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Views of the elderly were obtained from a cross-section of the public using 12 semi-structured interviews in the form of stratified group discussions. As a group, the elderly were generally thought of in negative terms. Furthermore, they were held partly responsible (or their perceived status, in particular by falling to keep physically active and to avoid mental deterioration and depression which were not considered conditions requiring treatment. In contrast, Alzheimer's disease was recognised as a disease, and sympathy was expressed for patient and carer. It was expected that responsibility for caring for the elderly mentally ill should pass to the State once the burden on carers became intolerable.

Type
Original Papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994

Footnotes

Report of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Section for the Psychiatry of Old Age) study.

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