Depression is the most common mental health concern for older adults, affecting some 15-20 percent of older adults living in the community. It is not a normal part of aging!

This is the reason why the Older Persons Mental Health and Addictions Network (OPMHAN) is focussing on ways to address this issue including the education of service providers and caregivers across Ontario. Changing the way in which we respond to depressed seniors will have a major impact on the quality of life for seniors and their families and save the health care system both money and resources.

OPMHAN, founded in 2002, is a coalition of more than one hundred and fifty provincial and Regional organizations as well as individual members from across Ontario and Canada.

The mission of this cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary Network is: 'To improve the Ontario system of care for older persons in the community at risk of or coping with mental illness and addictions - and to support those who care for and about them.'

OPMHAN is committed to raising public awareness and supporting older adults and family members who identify as belonging to the mental health and or addiction community. It also fosters the development of regional and local networks and encourages and facilitates networking, training, and education opportunities among members, academia and other stakeholders.

OPMHAN has received funding from the Ontario Government's Ontario Seniors Secretariat to work with the new Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) to provide training for service providers across the province.

Created by the Ontario government in March 2006, LHINS are 14 not-for-profit corporations who work with local health providers and community members to determine the health service priorities of their regions and plan, integrate and fund local health services.

Many of the LHINs have recognized both seniors' issues and mental health to be among their top priorities. OPMHAN has received this funding to offer training to those LHINs interested in providing this training for staff of community agencies across the province, to familiarize them with the issues involved in recognizing and addressing depression in the older adult. By bringing together local and regional providers across the sectors of aging, mental health and addictions, these seminars will also create exciting opportunities for networking and information sharing.

Training Outline

Training goals:

1) To familiarize service providers across the sectors of aging, mental health and addictions with the issues involved in recognizing and addressing depression in the older adults including.

• Is depression a normal consequence of aging?
• The double stigma of ageism and mental illness
• Depression across the lifespan
• What causes depression in older adults?
• Is depression preventable?
• What are the risk factors for depression?
• Depression and co-morbidity
• Depression and the caregiver
• Is assessment of depression the same for older adults as for the rest of the population?
• What does treatment consist of - and what's right for the particular individual?
• Prevention, identification & treatment: The role for community agencies, acute care and long-term care
• Introducing national guidelines for the assessment and treatment of depression in older adults
• Resources to address aging and depression<

2) To provide relevant information and research to inform practice.

3) To introduce OPMHAN's resources with customization for local use.

4) To bring together local and regional providers across the sectors of aging, mental health and addictions and create exciting opportunities for networking and information sharing.

Target Population:

• Front-line and management staff, clinicians, decision makers, etc
• All of those working with or on behalf of older adults in community services, acute care and/or long-term care settings
• All those working in the mental health and/or addictions sector who have aging clients

In addition. OPMHAN makes available extensive information on aging and depression through its website, www.opmhan.ca , its membership listserv, its seniors' speakers' bureau and through its print resources, including "Peer Support Groups for Older Persons with Depression and Those Who Care About Them: A Manual To Help You Get Started" and "Depression... It's Just Part of Getting Old, Right? Wrong!!!;The Facts on Aging and Depression for Older Adults and Those Who Care about Them ".