Assessment Teams Experience of Barriers and Challenges When Assessing Loneliness and Depression Among Home‐Dwelling Elderly: A Qualitative Study

Caseworkers in care assessment teams find that many home-dwelling elderly are struggling with loneliness and depression, but barriers on both organisational and administrative levels prevent them from providing appropriate interventions. Mental health is thus not systematically recorded in assessments, which may lead to loneliness and depression being overlooked. There are significant differences between municipalities regarding service offerings and follow-up procedures for loneliness and depression, and both caseworkers and municipal leadership must ensure a system that provides comprehensive patient care.