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.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Asexual (LGBTA) Aging (Research, Video 1:45)

For many older adults who are LGBTA, life now can be horrendous living in communities where they are excluded and harassed in long-term care, assisted living, and in receiving home care from healthcare workers. Consider how many of them feel when they depend daily on bigoted caregivers who resent their presence. Imagine being isolated socially by fellow residents regularly or only being included when they hide a major part of their identity. Either way, damage to their emotional and physical health has been so devastating that some LGBTA residents have resorted to suicide, just as some teens have done. But are these matters improving? Does it really get better?  Can LGBTA teens seriously look forward to futures where their lives are improved as older adults? 

The “It Gets Better Project,” is a suicide prevention video project and website to give hope to young people being bullied due to sexual orientation issues. Teens are told that high school and its bullies will not last forever. They are encouraged to look forward to happier futures because things will get better. Will they really? 

This is what the research about an adolescent sexual orientation study reports. This study included a racially-ethnically diverse sample of 231 LGBTQ (Q for Queers) adolescents aged 16-20 years over 3.5 years. While early experiences of stress did impact their mental health, both psychological distress and victimization decreased across adolescence and into early adulthood.” Yes, it really did get better.

In this video, Ellen Degeneres speaks out about the tragic suicides among teenagers due to gay bullying. Hopefully, more people's minds will change. She says things do get better, and young people deserve to have better lives when they become older adults.

 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.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Patient Suicides in Healthcare Settings: Staff Impact, Precautions (Hospice Research, Video 3:54)

Having a patient die from terminal illness is very different from having a patient commit suicide. Hospice clinical staff can be affected personally and professionally when a patient commits suicide under their care. Coping strategies and support are often needed to assist staff members after such an occurrence.

This study was done to examine the impact of patient suicides among clinical hospice staff. In an online survey, 186 staff members described the impact of patient suicides on them as people and as professionals, their coping strategies, and recommendations for supporting others. These were the results:

1) The themes expressed by the hospice staff in reaction to patient suicides included psychological responses such as feelings of guilt and self-doubt, changes in professional attitudes, and changes in clinical practice such as greater sensitivity to signs of suicide.

2) When coping with a patient suicide, hospice staff described the use of team-based support strategies, debriefings, and personal spiritual practices.

3) Recommendations for future support included facilitated debriefings, individual counseling, spiritual practices, leaves of absence, self-care activities, and educational interventions.

In addition to hospice staff, other healthcare professionals are impacted by suicides in healthcare settings. Knowing strategies for identifying patients at risk for suicide can be very helpful. The following video gives advice on suicide precautions in healthcare settings:

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.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog