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Despite increasing awareness of mental health problems among older adults, limited mental health services are available to meet their needs. The proposed study aimed to evaluate the need for mental health services among older adults in Shanghai, China, and identify gaps in the existing service system to inform policy making. Based on 80 face-to-face interviews amongst several groups of older adults and community officers, doctors and government stakeholders, the study found that (a) the mental health needs of older adults living with family members mainly present as needs for social interaction, sense of belonging, and self-realization; (b) special groups, such as older adults living alone, mainly desire support to address loneliness, older adults with physical disabilities desire social respect, and those with mental disabilities seek social acceptance; and (c) community cadres and other stakeholders have paid little attention to demands related to mental well-being among older people. It is necessary to deliver mental health education to community stakeholders and the public, popularize mental health knowledge, and publicize professional psychological counseling and treatment services. Meanwhile, policy makers should allocate resources to train professional mental health services personnel to meet these growing mental health needs and increase financial support for mental health services for older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The National Institutes of Health is making efforts to increase the representation of minority elders in aging research. While it is often noted that cultural barriers may make the recruitment of minority elders into research more difficult, relatively little empirical exists to support this claim. The purpose of this study was to identify sociocultural barriers to recruitment that emerged during a four-year study of dementia caregiving among Chinese families in the Boston area. More specifically, this paper examines how culturally shaped conceptions of health, aging, and dementia impacted the recruitment process. This paper is based on a qualitative analysis of interviews with 23 Chinese families and extensive fieldnotes generated by project ethnographers and interviewers. The following themes emerged in this analysis: 1) dementia-related changes were construed as a normal part of the aging process rather than a disease, making it more difficult to identify dementia-affected elders and to recruit families, 2) research participation was viewed as potentially harmful because it can lead to excessive worry 3) Alzheimer's disease carries a social stigma among Chinese, leading families to shun formal diagnosis and research participation, and 4) practitioners viewed research as an intrusion offering no direct benefit to participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]