Healthy People 2030 sets data-driven national objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade. It includes a national objective to reduce the proportion of adults with disabilities who experience serious psychological distress. Similarly, Let’s Get Healthy California, a shared vision for the future health of Californians, includes a focus on reducing depression among all adults. Depression is a common and treatable condition which can have serious health consequences if left untreated.

This indicator measures the proportion of older adults in California who experienced psychological distress - feelings of nervousness, hopelessness, restlessness, depression, demotivation, and worthlessness – within the past year, as self-reported on the California Health Interview Survey. Reducing this proportion and addressing older adult behavioral health needs, including reducing disparities in rates of depression by sex, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, is key to promoting lifelong healthy aging.

Check out the Health Reimagined Goal Page to explore dynamic visualizations and view more detailed data related to this topic.

To learn more about our data sources and methodologies, please see the Data Dashboard for Aging - About the Data Technical Guide.

• Healthy People 2030: Reduce the proportion of adults with disabilities who experience serious psychological distress – DH-02
• Healthy People 2030: Screening for Depression and Suicide Risk in Adults
• Let’s Get Healthy California: Living Well/Reducing Adult Depression
• National Institute on Aging: Depression and Older Adults
• Friendship Line California: Helping Older Adults Stay Connected
• About the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS)
• Explore CHIS Data (AskCHIS)