Mental Health Services for Older Adults:
The PRC's involvement in services research for older adults began in 1994, with
a comprehensive survey of mental health services and mental health service needs
in New Hampshire for this population. It measured system-wide Community Mental
Health Center service utilization data, client-specific descriptive and clinical
ratings and service data, collected data on over 4,000 nursing home residents,
and surveyed nursing home and residential staff. More recent studies have looked
at the implementation of a comprehensive treatment planning/outcomes measurement
system in the state's community mental health system, and at integrating mental
health services for the elderly into primary care settings.
HIV and Trauma:
There is a pressing need to better assess the apparently high risk of sexually
transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, in persons with SMI. An initial study
assessed:
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1) prevalence of such infectious diseases
2) risk factors (including other comorbidities, gender and specific HIV risk behaviors)
3) mental health and medical services implications
4) contextual factors that may bear on this complex set of health problems.
The relationship between trauma and trauma history, HIV risk behaviors, was the subject of a recent PRC pilot study. Other pilots have tested individual and group interventions for PTSD and other trauma-related problems for persons with SMD. The first major study of PTSD treatment for this population was recently funded.