Can Hospital-Community Integration Facilitate Timely Access to Mental Health Service and Improve Mental…

ObservationalThe American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry· Sep 2026

Can Hospital-Community Integration Facilitate Timely Access to Mental Health Service and Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Older Adults? An Observational Analysis.

Dara Kiu Yi Leung, Stephanie Ming Yin Wong, Angie Kwan Yu Shum … Terry Yat Sang Lum

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Geriatric PsychiatryObservationalQ1IF 2.6

Community depression program cut referral-to-assessment wait to 1 week vs 40 weeks

Can Hospital-Community Integration Facilitate Timely Access to Mental Health Service and Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Older Adults? An Observational Analysis.

Dara Kiu Yi Leung … Terry Yat Sang Lum

The American journal of geriatric psychiatry · Sep 2026 · Q1 in Psychiatry

Purpose

To examine waiting time and mental health outcomes following a hospital-community service-bridging mechanism among older adults with mild-to-moderately-severe depressive symptoms.

Methods

This retrospective cohort study (November 2023-June 2025) evaluated a mechanism linking public hospitals with JoyAge, a community-based stepped-care program for late-life depression.

n = 239 referrals

Results

assessment could start almost immediately, not after months of waiting

1weeks

JoyAge

40weeks

Psychiatric outpatient

More results

Of 239 referrals, 159 (median age 73; 75% females) enrolled in JoyAge.

Among those discharged, 93% achieved a clinically meaningful reduction in depressive symptoms, with significant improvements in secondary outcomes (ps < 0.001).

“

Conclusion

The service-bridging mechanism was associated with improved access and outcomes.

Can Hospital-Community Integration Facilitate Timely Access to Mental Health Service and Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Older Adults? An Observational Analysis.

Can Hospital-Community Integration Facilitate Timely Access to Mental Health Service and Improve Mental Health Outcomes in Older Adults? An Observational Analysis.

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