[Not Available].

Planning services for the mentally impaired elderly requires prior assessment of their needs, to make optimum use of available social and medical resources. Needs resulting from impairment can be determined after identifying the causes of the dementia. Additional needs arise from disabilities and handicaps that limit the patient's ability to perform daily tasks and to communicate. Relatives and others can provide a natural support network central to the patient's ability to maintain some measure of autonomy. Any factors undermining this network's commmitment to provide care should be identified. Yet, most mentally impaired elderly persons are not known to the health care system. Screening and casefinding by a team of psychogeriatric specialists would make it possible to identify the needs of these hidden patients and to plan services while they are still able to live at home.