Helping older people with mental health issues living at home
07/01/2026
Following the success of a world-first pilot program, Silverchain is scaling its Enhanced Management of home-Based Elders with Depression (EMBED) clinical trial to Western Australia and South Australia.
The EMBED model of care is the first of its kind, designed to improve the detection and treatment of depression among older Australians receiving aged care at home.
The program was made possible through a $2 million grant from the Medical Research Future Fund and Silverchain Foundation and is being delivered in collaboration with 15 leading clinical researchers from seven Australian universities, including Monash University, Swinburne University of Technology and Flinders University.
The 2024 pilot in Victoria delivered very promising results. EMBED was found to be highly feasible for home care, and clients experienced a significant reduction in symptoms of depression.
Client satisfaction was exceptionally high, with 95 per cent rating the program as “good” or “excellent” and advocating for it to be expanded to reach more people in need.
Building on this success, a much larger clinical trial is now underway in WA and SA to recruit more than 400 aged care clients, to further assess the program’s long-term outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Silverchain’s Director of Research Discovery and clinical psychologist, Adjunct Professor Tanya Davison, said the expansion marks an important step in reshaping mental health care for older Australians.
“Depression remains one of the most common – but poorly managed – health issues in older Australians,” Adj Prof Davison said.
“The overwhelmingly positive response from both clients and our care teams demonstrates the urgent need for mental health integration in aged care. EMBED is proving to be a scalable and feasible solution.”
Key developments in Silverchain’s mental health model of care include:
· Routine screening: Implementing systematic screening to detect signs of depression and anxiety among clients.
· Workforce training: Silverchain’s Foundations of Mental Health Training has been rolled out to Silverchain staff and is now freely available to any aged care organisation to use with their employees.
Research insights: Silverchain recently published a Letter to the Editor in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, highlighting a 234% increase in the estimated number of home care clients with a mental health condition between 2017–18 and 2021–22. The most significant rises were in anxiety and stress‑related disorders (314%) and mood disorders (253%).
“While these figures are concerning, they likely underestimate the true prevalence of mental health issues in home care. Our own research shows that around half of older people receiving aged care at home report at least mild symptoms of depression or anxiety,” a spokesperson said.
