Mental Health in Older People Across Cultures

As people across all nations around the world are beginning to live longer, the World Health Organization estimates the number of older adults will double to 1.5 billion by 2050. This presents visible increases in older adult mental health issues, and it is therefore vital that we understand the cross-cultural impact of social determinants of health in psychiatric illness and care in aging adults. As part of the Oxford Cultural Psychiatry series, Mental Health in Older People Across Cultures provides a detailed overview of the diverse factors, including socioeconomic and systemic factors within and across countries that impact the process of ageing, mental health and illnesses of older adults, and their care. This unique resource provides a necessary clinical understanding of factors on ageing, and the varied roles that families and caregivers have on the ageing process, with an emphasis on highlighting similarities and differences across cultures. The second half of the book then focuses on specific disorders in older adults across the globe affected by these factors, the nuances impacting diagnosis and treatment of these disorders, as well as research and development of healthcare policy. Written by experts in the field from across the world, this comprehensive book will be of great interest to a diversity of readers, from psychiatrists to trainees, general practitioners to social workers, and many other mental health providers. From epidemiology to economics and substance use disorders, and from East Asia, to Africa, and the Americas, this valuable addition to the field of mental health in older adults provides a world of fascinating insight.

Dr. Nhi-Ha Trinh serves as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and as Associate Director of Hinton Society at HMS. Dr. Trinh has served as faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) since 2007. Dr. Trinh earned her MD at the University of California, San Francisco, and her Master in Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley, specializing in Epidemiology. She completed residency training in Adult Psychiatry at the MGH/McLean Adult Psychiatry Training Program and a fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at McLean Hospital. She has written extensively on topics of cultural humility, sociocultural psychiatry, and mental health issues in marginalized populations.
Dr. Iqbal "Ike" Ahmed is a graduate of St. John's Medical College, India. He has served as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Geriatric Medicine, University of Hawaii; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University; Geriatric Psychiatry and General Psychiatry Residency director at the University of Hawaii; President of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Member, Board of Regents of the American College of Psychiatrists (ACP); Chair, ACP Committee on Diversity and Respectful Inclusion. He has received the American Psychiatric Association (APA) "Weinberg Award for contributions to Geriatric Psychiatry" and the APA "Distinguished Service Award". He has published in the areas of geriatric psychiatry with a focus on cultural issues.
Dr. Dinesh Bhugra serves as Professor Emeritus of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, Kings College London, and previously as the President, Royal College of Psychiatrists; President, World Psychiatric Association; President, British Medical Association. He is the Editor of the International Journal of Social Psychiatry and International Review of Psychiatry. He was Chair of the Mental Health Foundation and DocHealth charity. Currently he is a Non-Executive Director of Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Three of his books have been translated into Mandarin and Japanese. His Oxford Textbook for Public Mental Health won Book of the Year award in 2023, the same year Practical Cultural Psychiatry was highly recommended.

- Part I. Spectrum of ageing across cultures - 1: Culture and aging: The role of culture, race, and ethnicity - 2: Factors influencing ageing in high-income countries - 3: Factors influencing ageing in lower-income countries - 4: Social determinants of successful ageing - 5: Inter-generational expectations and filial piety: a traditional Chinese cultural concept and its relation to mental health - 6: Social determinants of health and pandemics - Part II. Challenges in the care of older adults across regions - 7: East Asia - 8: South Asia - 9: South American aging populations: challenges and opportunities for addressing mental health issues - 10: Africa - 11: Middle East - 12: Europe and Northern Asia - 13: Challenges in the care of older adults across regions: North America - 14: Indigenous peoples - Part III. Common psychiatric disorders and ageing - 15: Epidemiology of old age disorders and challenges across the globe - 16: Trajectories of mental disorders from early to late adulthood - 17: Late life mood disorders and suicidality - 18: Anxiety disorders - 19: Psychoses and psychotic disorders - 20: Neurocognitive disorders: dementias - 21: Delirium in older people across cultures - 22: Substance use disorders in older adults - Part IV. Socio-cultural factors in providing care for older adults - 23: Assessment and diagnosis of cognitive functioning across cultures. - 24: Biological treatments: nonpharmacological perspective on psychopharmacology and somatic therapies in developing countries with special reference to India - 25: Individual psychotherapies for older adults - 26: Integrative therapies - 27: Caregiver, family therapy and community support for older adults with mental illness - 28: End-of-life care among older adults with mental health conditions - 29: Uses of telehealth for older adults: socio-cultural considerations - 30: Research agenda for global mental health delivery: lessons learnt from a case study of a lay counselor-led intervention for late-life depression prevention in Goa, India - 31: Public mental health, policy, and ageing - 32: Conclusions