HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

124

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

urging the university of hawaii department of psychiatry to expand its research and education on depression diagnosis and management.

 

WHEREAS, Americans are living longer and enjoying better physical health in their retirement years; and

WHEREAS, depression is a serious illness affecting approximately 15 percent of adults over the age of 65 in the United States; and

WHEREAS, depression for senior citizens threatens to become a national crisis in the coming years as America's elderly population grows substantially with the "baby-boomer" generation entering retirement; and

WHEREAS, the growth in the proportion of older adults and the prevalence of mental illness is expected to have a major direct and indirect impact on health service needs and costs; and

WHEREAS, it is more economical to treat mental illnesses among the elderly when the conditions are detected and diagnosed earlier, rather than treating the condition after it has been ignored and become more severe; and

WHEREAS, more public resources will need to be invested in research, specifically on mental illnesses among older citizens, to keep pace with the aging population; and

WHEREAS, more funding is essential for training additional health care professionals with expertise in geriatric mental health and the care of older persons with mental illnesses; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that this body urges the University of Hawaii (UH) Department of Psychiatry to expand its research and education on depression diagnosis and management; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UH Department of Psychiatry is urged to work in collaboration with the UH School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene and the UH Center on Aging to increase its effort to train the many mental health care providers that the future will demand; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UH Department of Psychiatry is urged to:

(1) Pursue funding for research and partnerships with the National Institute of Aging and National Institute of Mental Health;

(2) Increase the number of state-based demonstration projects;

(3) Identify and provide financial incentives for individuals to choose training in geriatric mental health;

(4) Ensure that family caregiver research is included in the diagnosis and treatment of depression in family caregivers; and

(5) Establish a cross-institute working group to develop mechanisms to foster research on aging across disciplines;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the UH Department of Psychiatry, Dean of the UH School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, and Director of the UH Center on Aging.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

UH; Depression`