Suicide: Older Adult Risk Factors, Prevention (Video 3:20)

Are you aware of these facts about suicides? Worldwide, both men and women have increased risks of committing suicide as they age. In America, older adults kill themselves intentionally more than young people do. The highest suicide rate is among white men, and older adult white men are the largest in that group. This situation continues to escalate with the increase of millions of baby boomers (born 1946-1964) reaching senior status.

We can all help prevent older adult suicides in these two ways:

1)   Be aware of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline which can be reached at 1-800-273-8255. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals.

2)   Another way everyone can help prevent suicides of older adults is by looking for four risk factors that all begin with the letter d. In this video titled “The Four D’s of Suicide Risk in Older Adults,” Dr. Yeates Conwell, Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Program Director, Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center talks about specific problems we can address to prevent suicides.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

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Suicide Prevention and Older Adults (Video 3:10)

Older adults kill themselves intentionally over 50% more than young people do in America. Each year more than 6,300 older adults take their own lives. Unfortunately, suicide among the elderly continues to lack the intense prevention and research focus that it should receive. 

Older white men have been particularly at-risk for suicide for the past half century. They are eight times more likely to kill themselves than are women of the same age group. They have almost twice the rate of all other groups of elderly men. This situation continues to escalate with the increase of millions of baby boomers (born 1946-1964) reaching senior status. The continued rise in elderly male suicides has the potential for creating a national crisis in geriatric mental health if more prevention strategies are not used.

In this video, Dr. Yeates Conwell, Director, Geriatric Psychiatry Program Director, Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center talks about the four Ds that contribute to suicide risk in older adults.

 

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog