Research-Practice Partnership to Develop and Implement Routine Mental Health Symptom Tracking Tool Among Older Adults During COVID-19

OBJECTIVE: Older adults are disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing a mental health crisis in late life, due to physical restrictions (e.g., quarantine), limited access to services, and lower literacy and access to technology. Despite established benefits, systematic screening of mental health needs of older adults in community and routine care settings is limited and presents multiple challenges. Cross-disciplinary collaborations are essential for identification and evaluation of mental health needs and service delivery. METHODS: Using a research-practice partnership model, we developed and implemented a routine mental health needs identification and tracking tool at a community-based social services organization. Repeated screenings were conducted remotely over 5 months and included depression, anxiety, perceived loneliness, social support, and related domains such as sleep quality, resilience, and trauma symptoms linked to COVID-19. We examined symptomatic distress levels and associations between different domains of functioning. RESULTS: Our project describes the process of establishing a research-practice partnership during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected 292 screenings from 124 individuals; clients were mildly to moderately depressed and anxious, reporting large amounts of time alone and moderate levels of loneliness. Those reporting higher depressive symptoms reported higher anxiety symptoms, poorer sleep quality, lower quality of life, lower capacity to adapt to challenging situations, and greater trauma symptoms due to COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Our routine screening tool can serve as a blueprint for case management agencies and senior centers nationwide, beyond the pressing mental health crisis due to COVID-19, to continue identifying needs as they emerge in the community.