We celebrate Researcher Friday with a free event about the mental health of the elderly - pre-registration required!
The event Research Friday is organized every year at Vattenhallen together with the organization Vetenskap och Allmänhet. In addition to regular programs aimed at school students on Friday, we also offer a Science Café on Saturday with the theme Mental health in the elderly. The event is free, but advance registration is required! This can be done via Vattenhallen's website.
ABOUT THE EVENT
Mental illness is one of our major societal challenges. The mental health of the elderly is often overlooked, despite the fact that the elderly are the age group that rarely receives specialized psychiatric care. It is also the group where the largest proportion collect antidepressant medication. Factors that affect mental health include gender and socio-economic status, where women and the elderly in economic vulnerability more often report problems with depression and anxiety.
The discussion about the mental health of the elderly is characterized by preconceived notions, while the elderly's own perspective is heard less often. To highlight this, contribute to the open conversation and encourage the exchange of knowledge, we invite you to a Science Café where the elderly and the interested public can listen to and ask questions of two elderly researchers.
This science cafe is part of the EU project Re-MEND aims, among other things, to improve knowledge about mental health and ill-health among health and social care personnel as well as the general public. Through focus groups and science cafés, attitudes, knowledge gaps and needs are investigated while making the issue visible.
We have invited two researchers who focus on the life situation and mental health of the elderly, with different perspectives and methods. During the science café, the researchers talk briefly about their research, after which the audience can ask questions in a conversation with the researchers.
Cast
Carina Tordai is a PhD student at Lund University. Carina researches mental health, activity and participation in older people.
Håkan Jönsson is a professor at the School of Social Sciences, Lund University. His research deals with societal ideas about the elderly and aging and ageism as a problem for older people. He is currently leading two research projects, one of which deals with specialized elderly care for people with long-term addiction problems, and the other of which examines how the elderly coordinate home care and other efforts to have a functioning everyday life.
The visit is free of charge and we offer coffee.