Mental health services of the rural elderly outreach program

This paper describes an elderly outreach program (EOP) designed to identify and provide mental health services to the rural elderly. The project integrates a variety of health, mental health, and human service agencies in the planning and delivery of services. Five referral sources are identified and described as well as the assessment, treatment, and referral process. Outcomes are discussed in terms of: characteristics of persons served, ability of the project to identify and deliver mental health services, treatment effectiveness, and cost effectiveness of the project. The EOP seems to have prevented an increase in need for mental health care among Iowans that might have occurred in the program's absence.