Relationship Between Suicide Contemplation And Early Life And The Patients ' Physical Health, Disability, And Social Support

Elderly adults make up only 12% of the U.S. population, but account for over 18% of all suicide deaths which is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States (McQueen, 2012). Older adults, especially men 84 years and older, have the highest rates of suicide of any age group (McQueen, 2012).There are many elderly people who take their lives either by their own hands or with the help of a physician or loved one each year. Studies have shown this is due to depression, pain, grief, loneliness, alcoholism and career stress (McQueen, 2012). Fortunately, these are all treatable conditions that could be easily recognized by physicians and family members. Having experienced a couple of suicides by extended elderly

The elderly population is increasing due to baby boomers. Depression in the older adult age 60 and over is becoming more prevalent. Many older adult men suffer in silence and try to hide their emotions for as long as possible. Men don’t like to talk about their feelings so the symptoms manifest in different ways. The suicide rate is four time more likely in older adult men and they are more likely to die from a suicide attempt than a women. (Pfizer, 2016)

Suicide is a controversial topic that is effecting more and more people everyday. People all around the world have to undergo stress and anxiety as a result of a difficult situation. It was found that people who take care for their chronically ill family members, go through extreme stressful and anxious behaviour. Along with this stressful and anxious behaviour, people succumb to the unfortunate result of mental health problems. Mental problems was not only found with people who have ill family members, but also with people who have instability in their lifestyle. Over the years, suicide rates have increased by sixteen percent. Commissions are trying to find indicators of suicide and about how people are dealing with this mentally. The commissions

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has published a fact sheet of statistics on suicide in the United States. In 2007, it is reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death. Furthermore, for every suicide committed, eleven were attempted. A total of 34,598 deaths occurred from suicide with an overall rate of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. (NIMH, 2010). Risk factors were also noted on this report and listed “depression and other mental disorders, or a substance abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than ninety percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors (NIMH, 2010).”

Throughout the years suicide rates have increased and is a significant public health issue. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. However, suicide rates are high among the elderly, yet research on suicide prevention in older adults remains neglected.

There is a shortage of registered psychiatric nurses willingly to the elderly patients with mental illness. Unfortunately, the shortage is enlarging due to increasing in retirement rate and low in recruitment and application rate (Fisher, 2011) (Browne et al., 2013). There are causes for the gap of aged mental health nurses compare to another area of nursing. If the shortages keep on growing, elderly mental illness patients will not have enough support. According to Australian Beuro of Statistic on the Causes of Death (2012), elderly aged above seventy-five had the higest rate of suicide comepare to other age-group. Without the support required, the amount of elderly committing suicide will increase. This further empharsis the importance of having enough mental health nurses to support elderly patients and reduce the rate of death caused by

Suicide and dementia are two rising phenomena’s in society today. Dementia is seen in older citizens, and “the prevalence of severe dementia can reasonably be estimated as approximately 4% in persons over age 65” (DEMENTIA BOOKp.17). Suicide is seen among teens, and people suffering from mental illness. Now, there is a correlation between suicide and dementia starting. Suicide is “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior” (Violence Prevention). People who commit suicide think that there is no reason for them to be alive, and that no one cares about them. They feel they are better off dead. Some people have suicidal ideations, where they think about taking their life, and some attempt

The suicide lethality assessment has some strengths in that it identifies important suicide risk factors. The risk factors includes age, sex, stress, suicidal plan, feelings, behavioral changes, network, future outlook, perceived reactions

Suicide is more prevalent among older adults compared to younger adults, and disproportionately affects men more than women. Statistically, “…in 2010, the overall suicide rate for adults age 65 years and older was 14.9 suicides per 100,000” (Bamonti, Price, & Fiske, 2014, p.188). A case of an independent, 80-year-old man (R.L.) with multiple chronic comorbidities was presented. R.L had been recently diagnosed and started treatment for depression after exhibiting suicidal thoughts. It was not until R.L. developed renal failure and refused permanent dialysis therapy, that his clinician presented concerns about the patient’s possible impaired capacity for autonomous decision-making due to his diagnosed mood disorder. The main issues for evaluation in this case included the diagnostic process of depression, the patient’s capacity to make medical decisions, and the clinician’s ethical treatment approach.

Though less prevalent, it was found by Fiske and colleagues (2009) that older adults are more prone to depression than the younger ones. In fact, most of them who are diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder. Risk factors leading to the development of late life depression likely comprise

Men and women aged 65 years or older are referred to as the geriatric population. This population is the fastest growing population in the world; in fact, the current number of seniors in the U.S. exceeds 40 million. As people live longer, the elderly population is expected to reach 72 million by 2030. Medical professionals receive very little training when it comes to the mental health of seniors, which is concerning since the age group with the highest rate of suicide is the geriatric population. Caregivers and medical professionals know the signs that indicate depression. While medication may be necessary, there are other ways a caregiver can assist a patient who is experiencing depression until his or her medication takes effect.

Kim, S. Y., DeVries, R. G., & Petweet, J. R. (2015, November 14). Euthanasia and assisted suicide of patients with psychiatric disorders in the Netherlands 2011 to 2014. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(4), 363-368. https://doi.org/doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.2887

Depression is the most common mental illness, affecting almost 15% of the elderly. Depression significantly lowers the quality of life and increases the suicide rate among the elderly. In doing so, it places a heavy burden on the sufferer’s family and on social services. (Livingston et al, 1990)

Suicide is a main source of death around the world and ranks among the three main causes of death among young adults aged between 15-45 years. Indeed, a response to this continuous worldwide issue, the World Health Organization called for the prevention of suicide (WHO, 2015). Several studies have evaluated some of the contributing factors, however, the connection between suicide and the evaluated factors is conclusively positive or negative.

Mental health issues such depression, anxiety is a health burden that negatively affects many people’s quality of life, especially older adults. In this Literature review we will use the terms older adults, elderly, baby boomer when referring to people ages 65 and older. “The rate of suicide in those aged 65 years and over has been increasing over the past three decades in most industrialized countries, with marked increases in both attempted suicides and death by suicide in the late 1980s” (Deuter, 2016). Older adults in the United States and many countries around the world die by suicide at elevated rates compared with younger adults (Conwell, and Van Orden, 2016). In addition to the age different, suicide seem to affect man and women differently with the baby boomer population. Men die more from suicide compare to women, even though females suicide attempt rate is higher (Heisel, 2006). Deuter reports that, in 2013, 7215 people aged 65 years and over died by suicide the USA, which accounts for 17.5% of the national total of suicide deaths (2016). The elevation of suicide in the elder is not only limited to the United States. According to Conwell (2013), the number of adults 65 year and older who died in the US is 6000 and 20,000 died worldwide, in 2010. The elderly population have become increasing prone to committing suicide and considered to be a population at risk. We will focus on the cause, challenges/controversy, and solutions that were used to address the issue of