ABSTRACT
I became interested in the assessment of depression in elderly people through my work as a researcher on a project whose aim is to determine whether the provision of supplementary home support makes it possible, cost-effectively and satisfactorily, to maintain elderly people with dementia in their own homes for longer than is normally possible with support only from existing services. The project is being carried out in two contrasting areas: a county town (Ipswich) and an inner-city area (the London Borough of Newham). For this research project it was deemed important to assess how many of the elderly demented people in our study were also suffering from depression and to monitor any changes in this state as the project progresses. My interest in depression has also been furthered by being involved in the planning and pilot work for a new project looking at the prevalence of mental disorder amongst elderly people in an inner-city area. 1
