Daycare geriatric mental health services through social prescription by primary health care staff: a randomized control trial at community centers Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract Background Health issues among the elderly population are almost inevitable. Mental health problems are common among them, and it is one of the most neglected areas of health. There is a felt need to develop strategies to meet the needs of these populations. Social prescribing is one of the effective strategies to improve their health and well-being. The objective of this study is to estimate the effectiveness of daycare geriatric mental health services through social prescription on quality of life (QOL) of elderly aged 60 years and above in rural communities of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. Methods In this randomized controlled interventional trial, people aged 60 years and above with no acute psychotic symptoms will be recruited from the community areas of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh. Eligible populations will be directed to daycare geriatric mental health services, where interventions will be planned based on the results of the needs assessment. Follow-up will be conducted every two months to identify challenges in continuing daycare services by these populations. Implementation costs will be calculated concurrently. Analysis will be conducted using both intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol analyses. To examine the association between the participants' characteristics and their QOL, univariate analysis will be done. Thematic analysis will be done to analyze qualitative data where themes and sub-themes will be identified. Discussion Mental health services for the geriatric population are a neglected area. Daycare geriatric mental health services are essential to improve the quality of living and also their physical and mental health. Trial registration CTRI/2023/03/050503 dated 09/03/2023, under the Clinical Trials Registry-India version 1.0 dated 09/03/2023.