Abstract
Problem Identification
Depression among older adults is a growing public health issue that is often overlooked due to misconceptions about aging. In Sacramento County, older adults face significant barriers to accessing mental health care, including transportation, stigma, limited services, and systemic issues like Medicare screening limits. With an aging population and growing behavioral health needs, targeted interventions are urgently needed to improve mental health outcomes and reduce depression rates in this group.
Analysis
Using the Social Ecological Model, the paper analyzes how individual factors, interpersonal influences, community-level barriers, and policy-level gaps contribute to depression in older adults. Existing programs offer partial solutions, but Sacramento still lacks an approach that meets older adults where they are, both physically and culturally.
Intervention Proposal Connecting Sacramento is an 18-month mobile health clinic van program that provides on-site physical and mental health services at five senior facilities in the Pocket-Greenhaven area. A team of professionals will rotate to each facility to offer screenings, care coordination, education, and wellness activities. The program integrates health education, engineering, promotion, and policy advocacy to increase access, reduce stigma, and promote sustainable behavior change in older adults.
Implementation and Evaluation
A quasi-experimental design with a comparison group will be used to measure changes in depression, social connectedness, and transportation barriers using tools like the PHQ-9, Social Connectedness Scale, and a Likert-based transportation survey. Findings will inform future mental health programming in Sacramento and support policy advocacy to expand culturally appropriate PHQ-9 screenings.