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A staggering half of aged-care residents in Australia have depression. Without adequate treatment, symptoms can be enduring and significantly worsen older adults’ quality of life during their final years.
At the same time, data shows only 3% of Australian aged care residents access Medicare-subsidised mental health services, such as seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist, each year. The default seems to be to prescribe medication. A recent study found six in ten Australian aged care residents take antidepressants.
According to experts Tanya Davison and Sunil Bhar, while antidepressants may help many people, we lack robust evidence on whether they work for aged care residents with depression. They wanted to find out whether psychological therapy – such as cognitive behaviour therapy – can help manage depression in this group.
They reviewed the results of several different studies and found psychological therapy could be a promising approach for reducing symptoms of depression among aged care residents. Their findings also suggest that identifying ways to increase meaningful engagement with residents day-to-day could improve the mental health and wellbeing of older people in aged care.
“Depression should not be considered a ‘normal’ experience at this (or any other) stage of life, and those experiencing symptoms should have equal access to a range of effective treatments,” they write.
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Phoebe Roth
Deputy Health Editor
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Tanya Davison, Swinburne University of Technology; Sunil Bhar, Swinburne University of Technology
A new review looks at whether psychological therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, are an effective way to treat older people in aged care with symptoms of depression.
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Tony Wood, Grattan Institute
In states with competition between retailers, the energy regulator is promising savings for most customers on the default plan. But it’s small change compared to price hikes. Here’s what to expect.
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Michael Flood, Queensland University of Technology; Kelsey Adams, Queensland University of Technology; Maree Crabbe, Queensland University of Technology
Whether deliberately seeking it out or finding it accidentally, most young Australians have seen pornography by the time they are 20, with potentially damaging consequences.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The prime minister has flagged he has draft legislation on religious freedom waiting in the wings, but unless Peter Dutton agrees to it, it may never see the light of day.
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Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Put to the test in 1970, Australia’s radio industry abandoned the record labels that wanted them to pay more. The labels backed down.
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John Strawson, University of East London
But there is little sign that either side is listening.
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Robert Huish, Dalhousie University
Russia has tied its currency to gold to evade sanctions. Shifting the ruble away from a pegged value and into the gold standard itself is aimed at making it a credible gold substitute at a fixed rate.
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Dudley L. Poston Jr., Texas A&M University; Rogelio Sáenz, The University of Texas at San Antonio
Detailed data on the ages at which people die can give good indications of a person’s remaining life span.
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Andrew Hughes, Australian National University
The AFL’s newest team, the Tasmania Devils, launched on Monday night, drawing on its rich football history in a blaze of myrtle green, primrose yellow and rose red.
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Deborah Lupton, UNSW Sydney
People with long COVID have already fought hard to become visible.
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Jane Steventon, University of Portsmouth
This quirky, nebulous, joyous then rueful story is not for those who like their love stories simple.
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Politics + Society
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Elise Klein, Australian National University; Chay Brown, Australian National University; Janet Hunt, Australian National University; Kayla Glynn-Braun, Indigenous Knowledge; Zoe Staines, The University of Queensland
To First Nations women, ‘care’ is more broad and all-encompassing than traditional definitions. We need a new approach to capturing, and appreciating, their work, paid and unpaid.
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Adrian Beaumont, The University of Melbourne
As the Trump v Biden contest shapes up ahead of the US presidential election in November, the polls are not favourable to the incumbent president.
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Science + Technology
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Mark Scanlan, Edith Cowan University
A new AI system may improve soccer tactics in 90% of corner kicks – but is it ready for the big leagues?
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Sarah Vivienne Bentley, CSIRO; Claire Naughtin, Data61
The benefits of AI are transforming modern life — but disparities in digital confidence are leaving some behind.
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Environment + Energy
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Nik Callow, The University of Western Australia; David Pannell, The University of Western Australia; Ed Barrett-Lennard, Murdoch University; Richard George, The University of Western Australia; Tom Hatton, The University of Western Australia
We’ve known about dryland salinity for a century. But while we’ve made progress, the problem hasn’t yet been solved.
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Tim Curran, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Jo Monks, University of Otago
New Zealand’s plants and animals are globally unique and underpin primary production and tourism. The government’s fast-tracking proposal threatens to erode the natural capital the economy relies on.
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Arts + Culture
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Stephen Gaunson, RMIT University
From the opening of this new eight-part series on Binge, High Country feels in steady hands.
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Books + Ideas
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Jane Goodall, Western Sydney University
Russell Blackford’s How We Became Post-Liberal purports to offer a detached, historical account of why liberalism is in trouble.
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