A systematic review of elderly suicide prevention programs
Open accessAbstract
Background: Suicide rates are highest among the elderly, yet research on suicide prevention in old age remains a much-neglected area. Aims: We carried out a systematic review to examine the results of interventions aimed at suicidal elderly persons and to identify successful strategies and areas needing further exploration. Methods: Searches through various electronic databases yielded 19 studies with an empirical evaluation of a suicide prevention or intervention program designed especially for adults aged 60 years and older. Results: Most studies were centered on the reduction of risk factors (depression screening and treatment, and decreasing isolation), but when gender was considered, programs were mostly efficient for women. The empirical evaluations of programs attending to the needs of high-risk older adults seemed positive; most studies showed a reduction in the level of suicidal ideation of patients or in the suicide rate of the participating communities. However, not all studies used measures of suicidality to evaluate the outcome of the intervention, and rarely did they aim at improving protective factors. Conclusions: Innovative strategies should improve resilience and positive aging, engage family and community gatekeepers, use telecommunications to reach vulnerable older adult, and evaluate the effects of means restriction and physicians education on elderly suicide.
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Several quasi-experimental studies of interventions designed to increase social connectedness suggest this is a promising strategy for reducing late-life suicide rates.
“There are several quasi-experimental studies of interventions designed to increase social connectedness (i.e., the degree to which older adults are connected to family, friends, and their communities) with results suggesting that this is a promising strategy for reducing late-life suicide rates [13,23,24].”
From A systematic review of social factors and suicidal behavior in older adulthood (2012) · cites this paper as [24]
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References 81 · Cited by 323
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Mrazek PJ Haggerty RJ Reducing the risk for mental disorder: Frontiers for prevention intervention research 1994 Washington, DC National Academy Press, Institute of Medicine 25144015
- Snyder CR Rand K Anderson N Hopelessness and health health Encyclopedia of behavior 2004 Vol. 2 Thousands Oaks, CA Sage 521 523
- Authors
- Lapierre, S., Erlangsen, A., Waern, M., De Leo, D., Oyama, H., Scocco, P., Gallo, J., Szanto, K., Conwell, Y., Draper, B., & Quinnett, P.
- Affiliations
- Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (CA)
- Aarhus University (DK)
- Section of Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, Gothenburg University, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden
- Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Australia
- Aomori University of Health and Welfare (JP)
- Department of Mental Health, Community Mental Health Centre, Padova, Italy
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, USA
- University of Rochester Medicine (US)
- UNSW Sydney (AU)
- The QPR Institute, Inc., Spokane, WA, USA
- ORCID
- Venue
- Crisis
- Publisher
- Hogrefe Publishing Group
- Published
- 2011-03-01
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 88-98
- ISSN
- 0227-5910 (ISSN-L)
- 2151-2396
- PMC
- PMC3728773
- OpenAlex
- W2115898052
- Cited by
- 323
- References
- 81
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 30 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 29 · 2018: 30 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 2.37
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- Crisis (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH085651)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Suicide and Self-Harm Studies
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Homicide, Infanticide, and Child Abuse
- Social Sciences › Demography › Elder Abuse and Neglect
- Keywords
- elderly suicide, suicide prevention programs, older adults, suicidal ideation, social isolation, gender differences, protective factors, resilience, positive aging, telecommunications, means restriction, physician training, intervention outcomes
- MeSH terms
- Suicide Prevention, Aged, Antidepressive Agents, Combined Modality Therapy, Community-Institutional Relations, Cooperative Behavior, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depressive Disorder, Female, Humans, Male, Patient Care Management, Patient Care Team, Primary Health Care, Psychotherapy, Brief, Risk Factors, Suicide, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Interdisciplinary Communication, Resilience, Psychological, Suicidal Ideation
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