Research:
Our members are involved in many research programs that are supported by both local and foreign grant awarding agencies There are also research projects that involve collaboration of many centers where our members work.
Our aim is to ensure Better Mental Health for older adults in the country so that they can enjoy proper and ideal mental health in their later years.
The Geriatric Section of the Association of Psychiatrists came into existence in the year 2013, during the Association of Psychiatrist Annual Conference in Makurdi, Benue State. Annual meetings take place during this conference. However additional activities take place at various places from time to time.
Aim: The aim is to ensure Better Mental Health for older adults in the country so that they can enjoy proper and ideal mental health in their later years. As a group, we seeks to develop the mental health service of older people in Nigeria through inter-collaborative efforts in training, advocacy and policy development, as well as service provision and development. The Geriatric section of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria believes that interventions for older people’s mental health in Nigeria should be available, affordable, comprehensive, evidence-based, compassionate, culturally-relevan; caregiver inclusive and tailored towards the overall wellbeing of the older person. The group is made up of multidisciplinary mental health professionals spread all across the country. They are involved in raising awareness, advocacy and providing relevant services focused at the mental health of older persons in Nigeria. The Geriatric section of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria is an affiliate of the International Psychogeriatric Association.
Since 2014, we have been interested in developing educational programs for Nigeria and the West African sub-region, among other things.
Membership: We have members in various health institutions in Nigeria and 3 others resident outside Nigeria. We communicate actively through emails informing members of developments in the discipline, such as conferences, new research findings and policy issues that are germane to the progress of Psychogeriatrics. Our aim is to improve the mental health care of older adults in Nigeria through this process. Workshops and Conferences: We endeavor to arrange or participate in conferences and training workshops for all cadres of health workers. At some of these, our members were invited as speakers. These events are both local and international; some of which are listed below. Local Workshops and Conferences: • a. July 2014- Workshop in Lagos. Nigeria. Title: Diagnosis and Treatment of Neurological and Mental Disorders in Older Adults. Participants included doctors, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and others. Faculty included Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Family Physicians and a Geriatric Social Worker • b. November 2015- Workshop on Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) during the Annual General Conference of the Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria. Sub –topics included clinical presentation, epidemiology, treatment and burden of care. Presenters were members of the affiliate and emphasis was on BPSD in Nigerian patients. c. April 2018- Southwest Regional workshop on geriatric psychiatry at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. The Theme of the workshop was Psychogeriatrics in Africa. Subtheme was :Sleep Disorders in Old Age. It is our hope that other regions will organize similar workshop soon holding 2 times a year. • International Conferences: Our members attend many International Conferences regularly; in the last 5 years we have been represented in various conferences of the World Psychiatric Association, International Psychogeriatrics and the, Meeting of the Faculty of Old Psychiatry of the Royal College of Psychiatrist UK Research: Our members are involved in many research programs that are supported by both local and foreign grant awarding agencies There are also research projects that involve collaboration of many centers where our members work. Other Activities: We collaborate with a number of Non- Governmental Organizations on activities related to mental health of older adults.
Our members are involved in many research programs that are supported by both local and foreign grant awarding agencies There are also research projects that involve collaboration of many centers where our members work.
We collaborate with a number of Non- Governmental Organizations on activities related to mental health of older adults.
The response to mental health needs of older adults is slow in Nigeria, and policies are inadequate or non-existent. We plan to get more involved in advocacy and hopefully get the public and government to show more interest in mental health of the elderly. One immediate area of concern is to influence policies on establishment of treatment centers for older adults that need mental health care including nursing homes and other long term care facilities.
Finally, we hope to continue to encourage our members and others interested to more frequently take advantage of the educational materials made available through the auspices of the IPA.
