Published Paper Details:

The mental health of the elderly has been brought to the fore as a pressing problem accompanying the ever-increasing demographic transition to an aging population in worldwide environments, and the sense of urgency is especially noticeable in the urban Indian environment where gaps in access to care and social support systems are still present. Primary care is potentially a gateway to mental health interventions due to the integrated, accessible and holistic nature of services provided at primary care. The aim of this study was to examine how three key determinants, namely the quality of primary care, the relationship between the patient and the provider, and the existence of barriers to mental health care, can affect the overall health of older adults living in the province of Mangalore. They were aimed at testing the individual and simultaneously combined effects of these variables as well as the dimensions of primary care that most significantly predict mental health outcomes. The methodology used was a quantitative survey where thirty elderly respondents were used to collect data with a structured questionnaire that included demographic questions and Likert-scale questions covering the four variables. Random sampling method was employed and the obtained data were analysed through descriptive statistics and regression analysis within the SPSS. The results presented that the quality of primary care proved to be the most powerful and statistically significant predictor of well-being and showed a positive impact clearly. The patient-provider relationship was also associated with an upward trend although not statistically significant whereas barriers to mental health care have no perceivable influence in this sample. However, the composite predictor model that entails all three predictors explained about ninety percent of the well-being variance, which supports the significant role of primary care in determining mental health outcomes. The research finds that the quality of primary care service should be promoted as the most effective approach to the psychological well-being of older adults, and the establishment of supportive relationships between the patient and the provider and the reduction of systemic obstacles are other aspects that should be prioritized in future research and practice.