Burden of mental ill-health of older adults in humanitarian settings: a retrospective analysis of MSF mental health program data

This retrospective analysis addresses objective ‘Reaching those left behind in our health services: provide services that meet the needs of those we often fail to reach in our programmes’ of the Medical-Operations Functional Strategy (page 11). Specifically sub-objective 2: ‘identify and address specific access and quality issues affecting the extremes of age (newborns, children <5, elderly). This retrospective analysis of routine data from MSF-supported mental health programs across MSF projects will contribute to the systematic epidemiological description of mental ill-health and mental health service utilization among older adults. It will help MSF, health authorities and other humanitarian actors to better understand the mental health needs of older adults and adapt services as appropriate, including:

If and how mental health needs of older adults differ from younger adults;

If and how older clients hear of, and are referred to, MSF-supported mental health services differs from younger adults;

If the number of older clients that access MSF-supported mental health services reflects the proportion of older adults in the population which could be an indication of accessibility of MSF-supported metal health services;

If and how mental health outcomes (exit status, functional and complaint ratings) of older adults differ from younger adults

Depending on the findings, the outcomes of the above questions should influence how we approach older adults in MSF-supported mental health services, such as the way mental health services are promoted and referred to and the modality of mental health service delivery.

Furthermore, this analysis will contribute to addressing the current gap of knowledge around mental health needs of older adults in humanitarian settings and help identify topics related to mental health of older people that should be further explored.