AAG background paper: Mental health and wellbeing in older age - What can be done?

Mental health and wellbeing are critical to ageing well, yet these areas are often poorly addressed within the aged care and broader settings. While many older people stay well, others face mental health risks due to chronic illness, grief and loss, and social isolation and loneliness, among other factors. It is estimated that 10-15% of older Australians living in the community experience anxiety or depression, but those figures are significantly higher in residential aged care settings.

This report is based on a workshop held at the 52nd AAG conference in 2019.