ABSTRACT
Societies with developed economies, like the United States and Canada, are struggling with how to adequately prepare for the anticipated health care needs of the aging baby boomer generation. Chronic illnesses, including dementia, already dominate the geriatric health care agenda, and a shortage of health care providers with geriatric training, including behavioral health, currently exists. The needs and challenges of caring for an older population are that much greater in societies where economic development is less advanced and the population is aging even faster. Add a catastrophic event and the tenuous status quo becomes dire. Already limited resources needed to facilitate recovery may be destroyed or quickly depleted. Local service providers are often personally affected by the disaster, further hindering their ability to respond to others in need. In this chapter, an overview is provided of the key issues related to disaster behavioral health for older Canadians and Americans. While it is beyond the scope of this chapter to describe the challenges in delivering culturally and linguistically sensitive behavioral health interventions to older adults from an international perspective, related activities undertaken by three major international organizations are highlighted. In conclusion, future directions for programs and policy in Canada and the United States are discussed.
