Dementia and Old Age Mental Health

This book is a history of the provision of mental health and dementia care to older Australians.

Until the 1970s, dementia care in Australia was mainly located in mental hospitals and infrequently separated from the care of older people with other mental disorders. Since the late 1980s, mainstream dementia care has been embedded in an aged care system, and distinct old-age mental health services have emerged. The broad reasons for these developments are described, and definitions of old age, dementia and mental disorders, and international influences on services, are considered.