Policy Research on Aging and Mental Health Services (PRAMHS) Project

This study consists of four parts. Part 1 is the result of
a nationwide mail survey of Community Mental Health Centers (CMHC).
Questions centered on the delivery of mental health services to the
elderly, and cover topics such as the number of elderly people in the
client load, amount of interaction between CMHC and Area Agencies on
Aging (AAA), factors affecting the delivery of services to the
elderly, and specialized services for the elderly. In addition to data
from the PRAMHS questionnaire, data from the 1976 National Institute
of Mental Health CMHC inventory were merged with the corresponding
agencies. Part 2 contains data from a mail survey of Area Agencies on
Aging. Data include percentage of referrals made by agencies to mental
health programs as compared to other types of programs, priority given
to mental health issues, factors influencing delivery and coordination
of mental health services to the elderly, and amount of communication
between AAA and agencies in its service area serving the mental health
needs of the elderly. Part 3 consists of data collected by the PRAMHS
project State Unit on Aging (SUA) mail survey. Information is included
on interaction with State Mental Health Agencies, priority given to
mental health issues, efforts by the elderly to influence policy
decisions, and factors influencing delivery and coordination of mental
health services to the elderly. Part 4 contains the result of the
PRAMHS State Mental Health Agencies mail survey. Data provide
information concerning interaction with SUA, efforts to decrease the
number of elderly in state mental health institutions, efforts by the
elderly to influence policy decisions, and factors influencing
delivery and coordination of mental health services to the elderly.