The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that in 2011, more than 9,000 older adults died by suicide. Although the rate of suicide for women typically declines in older age, it increases with age among men. (Greenlee and Hyde, 2014) Studies have been done to identify suicide risk factors based on psychological autopsies of older adults who died by suicide. These include psychiatric illness (especially depression); social isolation; functional impairment; physical illness; pain, and personality (including low openness to experience, negative life events, and other factors). (Arbore, 2014)
Depression is associated with the disease course of some chronic conditions such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer—conditions that disproportionately affect older people. And depression can be a side effect of some of the medicines commonly taken by older adults, such as …show more content…
The problem is exacerbated for older adults because they typically present to primary care providers who receive far-less-relevant training than menal health specialists and may be less inclined to discuss depression or suicide, yet older adults are more likely to seek mental health care in primary care settings, with up to 73% of older adults who committed suicide having visited their primary care provider within 1 month of their death. Better identification of suicide risk in older adults will require training of providers across the healthcare spectrum. (American Geriatrics Society, 2012) A study conducted for the American Geriatric Society (2012) shows that a specially designed educational workshops may have large-scale effects on multidisciplinary providers’ abilities and confidence to intervene with older adults in crisis and at risk for
Depression is associated with the disease course of some chronic conditions such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and cancer—conditions that disproportionately affect older people. And depression can be a side effect of some of the medicines commonly taken by older adults, such as …show more content…
The problem is exacerbated for older adults because they typically present to primary care providers who receive far-less-relevant training than menal health specialists and may be less inclined to discuss depression or suicide, yet older adults are more likely to seek mental health care in primary care settings, with up to 73% of older adults who committed suicide having visited their primary care provider within 1 month of their death. Better identification of suicide risk in older adults will require training of providers across the healthcare spectrum. (American Geriatrics Society, 2012) A study conducted for the American Geriatric Society (2012) shows that a specially designed educational workshops may have large-scale effects on multidisciplinary providers’ abilities and confidence to intervene with older adults in crisis and at risk for