Together we stand: Suicide risk and suicide prevention among Israeli older adults during and after the COVID-19 world crisis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (S1) ◽  
pp. S123-S125
Author(s):  
Yossi Levi-Belz ◽  
Daniela Aisenberg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
World Crisis

scholarly journals SAVE-CLC: An Intervention to Reduce Suicide Risk in Veterans Who Discharge From VA Nursing Homes

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 91-92
Author(s):  
Kelsey Simons ◽  
Katherine Luci ◽  
Lauren Hagemann ◽  
Lindsey Jacobs ◽  
Emily Bower ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Care Transitions ◽  
Quality Improvement Intervention ◽  
Service Needs ◽  
Veterans Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Care Assessment

Abstract Prior research has established transitions into and out of nursing homes as periods of suicide risk for older adults. Deaths by suicide were found to be 2.4 times as likely among Veterans within six months of discharge from US Veterans Health Administration (VA) nursing homes when compared with gender and age-matched Veterans from the general VA patient population (McCarthy, Szymanski, Karlin, & Katz, 2013). Despite these trends, suicide prevention interventions implemented during nursing home and post-acute care transitions, including those taking place from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regulated nursing homes, are lacking. Suicide Awareness for Veterans Exiting the Community Living Center (SAVE-CLC) was piloted as a quality improvement intervention to reduce suicide risk for older Veterans discharging from VA nursing homes. VA clinicians from three sites provided a friendly contact by phone after discharge (n = 66) to screen for depression, facilitate a strengths-based discussion about service needs, and provide service referrals. Compared to a group of patients discharged prior to the start of the intervention (matched on location, age range, and Care Assessment Need scores), SAVE-CLC patients received more depression screening within 30 days after discharge (chi square = 38.7, p < .001) and were seen more quickly for mental health care (t = 3.1, p = .005) when indicated. Implications for suicide prevention with older Veterans and for the general population of older adults receiving short stay services in US nursing homes will be addressed.

Future Directions in Late Life Suicide Prevention

2001 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Fiske ◽  
Patrick Arbore
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Community Outreach ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Community Agencies ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Elderly Suicide

Late life suicide is characterized by less warning, higher lethality, and greater prevalence of depression and physical illness than suicide earlier in the lifespan. Suicidal older adults are more likely to seek help from a physician than through mental health channels, and suicide risk often remains undetected. Hopelessness is a prominent feature in older adult suicide. Traditional suicide hotlines receive few calls from older adults, and staff lack training in working with this age group. Despite the difficulties in preventing older adult suicide, however, opportunities exist. Psychotherapeutic and psychopharmacological treatments for depression may be effective in suicidal older adults, although they have not yet been widely tested. Community agencies with specialized programs for older adults show promise. Results are presented from the evaluation of one such agency, the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention. After receiving agency services, hopelessness improved among clients but not in a comparison group. There were no significant changes in depressive symptoms or life satisfaction. Recommendations for future preventive efforts include: use of medical contacts to screen for depression and suicide; assessment of suicide risk with even small elevations in depressive symptoms; consideration of physical health status and level of hopelessness in assessing suicide risk; research on effective psychotherapies with suicidal older adults; and support of innovative community outreach and intervention programs.

Working Sensitively and Effectively to Reduce Suicide Risk Among Older Adults

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marnin J. Heisel ◽  
Paul R. Duberstein
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Human Response ◽  
Decisive Action ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Risk Assessment And Management ◽  
Made In

Suicide is a uniquely human phenomenon, necessitating a human response. Suicide disproportionately claims the lives of older adults, and men in particular. Effective clinical practice with at-risk older adults requires sensitivity to contributing developmental, intrapersonal, social, and existential factors. Whereas the presence of suicide thoughts and behavior may be conceptualized as potential signs of an incipient mental health emergency, demanding quick and decisive action, working clinically with at-risk older adults nevertheless extends temporally beyond moments of behavioral crisis and conceptually beyond risk assessment and management. The field of later-life suicide prevention is in its relative infancy; however, progress is being made in investigating associated risk and resiliency factors and in developing, testing, and disseminating approaches to assessment and intervention. We provide an overview of the literature and call for a more sensitive, compassionate, and effective approach to suicide prevention among older adults, drawing on individually tailored and humanistic-existential approaches to care.

A Model for Analyzing Suicide Prevention

Crisis ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maila Upanne
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Practical Work ◽  
Individual Risk ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Prevention Project ◽  
Individual Risk Factors

This study monitored the evolution of psychologists' (n = 31) conceptions of suicide prevention over the 9-year course of the National Suicide Prevention Project in Finland and assessed the feasibility of the theoretical model for analyzing suicide prevention developed in earlier studies [ Upanne, 1999a , b ]. The study was formulated as a retrospective self-assessment where participants compared their earlier descriptions of suicide prevention with their current views. The changes in conceptions were analyzed and interpreted using both the model and the explanations given by the subjects themselves. The analysis proved the model to be a useful framework for revealing the essential features of prevention. The results showed that the freely-formulated ideas on prevention were more comprehensive than those evolved in practical work. Compared to the earlier findings, the conceptions among the group had shifted toward emphasizing a curative approach and the significance of individual risk factors. In particular, greater priority was focused on the acute suicide risk phase as a preventive target. Nonetheless, the overall structure of prevention ideology remained comprehensive and multifactorial, stressing multistage influencing. Promotive aims (protective factors) also remained part of the prevention paradigm. Practical working experiences enhanced the psychologists' sense of the difficulties of suicide prevention as well as their criticism and feeling of powerlessness.

Perceptions of a Peer Suicide Prevention Program by Inmates and Professionals Working in Prisons

Crisis ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Auzoult ◽  
Sid Abdellaoui
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Prevention Program ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Prevention Programs ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Penal Institutions ◽  
Peer Suicide ◽  
Suicide Prevention Programs ◽  
Methods Of Suicide

Background: Suicide prevention is a major challenge for penal institutions in many countries. The traditional approach relies on the expertise of health professionals and is supplemented by the intervention of other professionals and the inmates themselves. New methods of suicide prevention based on peer support have been developed in recent years. Peer prevention programs rely on the ability of inmates to identify suicide risk. Aims: This study examines perceived suicide risk among inmates and explores possible explanations. Method: 54 inmates and 17 professionals working in prisons responded to a questionnaire. Results: The peer prevention program was found to change inmates’ expectations of support in the event of a suicide crisis. The study also found that the inmates involved in the program tended to underestimate the risk of suicide. The perception of the prevention program and the level of self-consciousness were found to account for the underestimation of suicide risk. Conclusions: Support for inmates involved in suicide prevention programs must take into account their isolation in prison. The training provided to inmates must also consider the biases affecting the assessment of risk.

Promoting the Community's Ability to Detect and Respond to Suicide Risk Through an Online Bystander Intervention Model-Informed Tool

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Karien Hill ◽  
Shawn Somerset ◽  
Ralf Schwarzer ◽  
Carina Chan
Keyword(s):  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Bystander Intervention ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Intervention Model ◽  
Standard Material

Abstract. Background: The public health sector has advocated for more innovative, technology-based, suicide prevention education for the community, to improve their ability to detect and respond to suicide risk. Emerging evidence suggests addressing the bystander effect through the Bystander Intervention Model (BIM) in education material may have potential for suicide prevention. Aims: The current study aimed to assess whether BIM-informed tools can lead to improved readiness, confidence and intent in the community to detect and respond to suicide risk in others. Method: A sample of 281 adults recruited from the community participated in a randomized controlled trial comprising a factsheet designed according to the BIM (intervention group) and a standard factsheet about suicide and mental health (control group). Participants' self-reported detecting and responding to suicide risk readiness, confidence, and intent when presented with a suicidal peer was tested pre- and postintervention and compared across time and between groups. Results: The intervention group had significantly higher levels of detecting and responding to suicide risk readiness, confidence, and intent than the control group at postintervention (all p < .001) with moderate-to-large effect sizes. Limitations: The study was limited by a homogenous sample, too low numbers at follow-up to report, and self-report data only. Conclusion: This study demonstrates BIM-informed suicide prevention training may enhance the community's intervention readiness, confidence, and intent better than current standard material. Further testing in this area is recommended. While results were statistically significant, clinical significance requires further exploration.

Perceived Burdensomeness Is Key to Suicide Risk Among Older Adults

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. Jahn ◽  
K. C. Cukrowicz ◽  
K. Linton ◽  
F. Prabhu
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Perceived Burdensomeness
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