When elderly people give warning of suicide

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (9) ◽  
pp. 1393-1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildri Kjølseth ◽  
Øivind Ekeberg
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
American Association ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Home Based Care

ABSTRACTBackground: The study has a dual objective: (1) to investigate the extent to which, and how and to whom, elderly people gave warning (according to the definition of the term given by the American Association of Suicidology) prior to suicide; (2) to investigate how these warnings were perceived by the recipients of them, and what reactions the recipients had to the warnings.Methods: This is a psychological autopsy study based on qualitative interviews. Sixty-three informants were interviewed about 23 suicides by individuals aged over 65 in Norway. The informants comprised relatives, general practitioners (GPs) and home-based care nurses. In general, the analysis of the interviews follows the systematic text condensation method.Results: The interviews contained four main themes regarding reactions to the warnings: “not taken seriously,” “helplessness,” “exhaustion,” and “acceptance.” A total of 14 of the 23 elderly people gave warning before the suicides occurred. The warnings were given to relatives (11), home-based care nurses (5), and GPs (2).Conclusions: Even though more than half of the elderly people had given warning (most frequently to relatives) before the suicide, the warnings did not initiate preventive measures. Together with passive attitudes, the lack of recognition of both the risk of suicide and the opportunities for treatment prevented possible measures being implemented. The paper discusses the grounds for the reactions as well as how suicide warnings given by elderly people can be taken seriously.

Why suicide? Elderly people who committed suicide and their experience of life in the period before their death

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ildri Kjølseth ◽  
Øivind Ekeberg ◽  
Sissel Steihaug
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Elderly Person ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
Family Doctors ◽  
Home Based

ABSTRACTBackground: The objective of this study is to acquire an understanding of the suicides among a group of elderly people by studying how they experienced their existence towards the end of life.Methods: This is a psychological autopsy study based on qualitative interviews with 63 informants in relation to 23 suicides committed by persons aged over 65 in Norway. Informants who knew the deceased persons well describe what the elderly person communicated to them about their experience of life in the period before the suicide and how they as informants saw and understood this. The informants comprise relatives, family doctors and home-based care nurses. The analysis of the interviews follows the systematic text condensation method.Results: The descriptions are divided into three main elements: the elderly persons' experiences of life, their perception of themselves, and their conceptions of death. “Experience of life” has two sub-topics: this life has been lived and life as a burden. Everything that had given value to their life had been lost and life was increasingly experienced as a burden. Their “perception of themselves” concerned losing oneself. Functional decline meant that they no longer had freedom of action and self-determination. “Conceptions of death” involve the following sub-topics: acknowledgement/acceptance and death is better than life. Life had entered into its final phase, and they seemed to accept death. For some time, many of them had expressed the wish to die.Conclusions: The results lead us to argue that their suicides should be considered as existential choices. The sum total of the different forms of strain had made life a burden they could no longer bear. Age meant that they were in a phase of life that entailed closeness to death, which they could also see as a relief.

scholarly journals Levels of disability among the elderly in institutionalized and home-based care in Bahrain

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 247-254
Author(s):  
F. Al Nasir ◽  
M. K. Al Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Physical Disabilities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Assessment Procedure ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Home Based Care ◽  
At Home

We compared the levels of disability between the elderly admitted to an institution and those cared for at home. Of the 74 elderly people in this study, 56 were institutionalized and 18 were living at home. The Clifton Assessment Procedure for the Elderly [CAPE]was used to assess and compare the behavioural disabilities between the two groups. In addition to their younger age, the home-cared elderly were less incontinent, more social, better communicators and less confused than the institutionalized group, despite the fact that they had more physical disabilities with regard to bathing and walking

Availability of Knowledgeable Informants for a Psychological Autopsy Study of Suicides Committed by Elderly People

1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 1169-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C Younger ◽  
David C. Clark ◽  
Ruth Oehmig-Lindroth ◽  
Robert J. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study

Health Systems and Home-Based Care: Closing the Loop

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (10) ◽  
pp. 915-916
Author(s):  
Bill G. Felkey ◽  
Brent I. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Health Systems ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Digital Information ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Seamless Care ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Closing The Loop ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Home Based Care

In a previous article, we described that progressive health systems have begun to redefine the definition of their enterprise to include the most intensive acute care setting all the way to an individual patient's home. This is being made possible by the transformation into a digital field that all of health care is beginning to make a reality. The vision is seamless care provision, where digital information convergence produces new levels of continuity of care, efficiency, effectiveness, and total situational awareness. In this installment, we focus on the current potential for home-based care, without which the vision of seamless care will ultimately fall short.

Formal caregivers’ perceptions of working in a home-based care for elderly

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S634-S634
Author(s):  
C. Laranjeira ◽  
Z. Azeredo ◽  
M. Guerra ◽  
C. Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Population Aging ◽  
Direct Action ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Team Work ◽  
Difficult Situation ◽  
Formal Caregivers ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Home Based Care

IntroductionPopulation aging is an issue increasingly gaining more prominence, as evidenced by the number of inquiries regarding the “problems” that this entails for society. This leads to a need to understand the role of caregiver for the elderly as the central figure of support in old age.AimThe purpose of this study was to describe formal caregivers’ perceptions of working conditions, difficulties and factors associated with quality of care in a Portuguese home-based care for elderly.MethodsThe participants were 8 formal caregivers whose profession falls under the categories of Direct Action Helper and Auxiliary Workers. The data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews and analysed using a content analysis following Bardin's method.ResultsThe results show that the sample is female, aged from 32 to 53 years, with a professional exercise time between 8 and 16 years. Regarding the main conclusions of our research, we can say that our group of participants has a strong sense of team work which contributes to avoid situations of physical and emotional exhaustion; mostly caregivers can separate their personal and professional lives; there are some difficulties in communication between the caregivers and the elderly, however the most difficult situations are usually overcome due to the caregiver's understanding of the characteristics of institutionalized elderly; the matter of death is frequently seen as the most difficult situation to face.ConclusionsThe caregivers should have an awareness of the importance of kindness and respect, supporting positive thoughts and help the older people to retain control over their lives.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Suicide in Later Life: Psychological Autopsy Findings

1991 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeates Conwell ◽  
Kurt Olsen ◽  
Eric D. Caine ◽  
Catherine Flannery
Keyword(s):  
Major Depression ◽  
Preliminary Data ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Psychological Autopsy ◽  
Autopsy Study ◽  
Autopsy Findings ◽  
Completed Suicide ◽  
Viable Method

The authors report preliminary data from a psychological autopsy study of completed suicide in late life. Sixteen of 18 victims had diagnosable psychopathology, most commonly major depression of late onset. Symptoms manifest prior to death are described and directions for future investigation discussed. The psychological autopsy is shown to be a viable method for studying suicide in the elderly.

scholarly journals Dental treatment of the elderly people with disabilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 383-388
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Popovac ◽  
Ivica Stancic ◽  
Ana Vukovic ◽  
Nebojsa Despotovic
Keyword(s):  
Oral Health ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Treatment Guidelines ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Functional Dependence ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Assessment And Treatment

Introduction. The growing population of the elderly people and a proportional increase in the number of the elderly with different types of disabilities, necessitates a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment of their oral health and dental treatment. The ultimate aim is to retain a pain-free functional dentition and decrease the risk of future disease. Material and Methods. A PubMed search was performed and the authors contributed their experience in implementing preventive and therapeutic measures. Oral health problems of the elderly with disabilities. Two main factors influence the oral health: multimorbidity and polypharmacy. Oral health problems expected in this population are teeth abrasion, teeth fractures, root caries, periodontitis and problems with wearing dentures due to stomatitis caused by Candida albicans. Oral health assessment and treatment guidelines. This article provides guidelines for assessment and treatment planning, taking into consideration multimorbidity, polypharmacy, dementia and capacity of caregivers. Preventive measures. Preventive measures are crucial for long-term oral health of this population, and this paper provides guidelines for preventive treatment depending on the degree of functional dependence. Prosthetic treatment. Although some elderly with disabilities are suitable for conventional prosthetic treatment, often there are contraindications and specific considerations that must be taken into account. Conclusion. Oral health needs of the elderly people with disabilities should not be neglected and the success of treatment depends on the education of dental professionals and cooperation with other health professionals of the medical team.

Open Journal Systems Journal Help User You are logged in as... wynlib My Journals My Profile Log Out About The Authors Valerie Møller Institute of Social and Economic Research, Rhodes University South Africa Ayanda Sotshongaye Department of Labour, Pietermaritzburg South Africa Information For Readers For Authors For Librarians Font Size Make font size smaller Make font size default Make font size larger Journal Content Search Search Scope Browse By Issue By Author By Title Other Journals Article Tools Print this article Indexing metadata How to cite item Finding References Email this article Email the author Popular Articles »Generational interdependence: living arrangements and housing programmes 31 views since: »The growing problem of violence against older persons in Africa 25 views since: 2006-10-01 »Risk profile for chronic diseases of life-style in older black South Africans. The BRISK Study 24 views since: »The role of gender in gait analysis in the elderly 21 views since: »Research for practice and development in Africa 15 views since: 2006-10-01 »AIDS and older Zimbabweans: who will care for the carers? 15 views since: 1997-03-17 »The contribution of older people to society: evaluation of participatory research methodology employed in studies in Ghana and South Africa 14 views since: 2006-10-01 »Effects of the AIDS epidemic and the Community Home-Based Care programme on the health of older Batswana 13 views since: 2016-03-29 »Victimisation and killing of older women: witchcraft in Magu district, Tanzania 13 views since: 2006-10-01 »Caregiving on the edge: the situation of family caregivers to older persons in Botswana 13 views since: 2016-03-29 Home About User Home Search Current Archives Rhodes Library Services Home > Vol 8, No 2 (1999) > Møller “They don’t listen”: contemporary respect relations between Zulu grandmothers and granddaughters/-sons

1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Møller ◽  
Ayanda Sotshongaye
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Care Programme ◽  
Aids Epidemic ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Home Based Care

Reviewing Home Based Assistive Technologies

2015 ◽  
pp. 317-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis D. Bamidis ◽  
Evdokimos Konstantinidis ◽  
Antonis S. Billis ◽  
Anastasios Sioundas
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Ambient Assisted Living ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Population Ageing ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
European Level ◽  
Home Based

Population ageing is an unprecedented challenge for human societies, which recently is globally tackled by new technologies. In this chapter technologies tailored for use by the elderly people termed ambient assisted living and e-health are discussed. Focus is only placed on those technologies that can be adapted for home use. Emphasis is drawn both on the technical front as well as on the application front based on recent literature. The scope is to make sure the audience reaches a sufficiently broad understanding of what technology is available for home use by elderly people. Applications and research efforts spent but also funded at the European level with a clear focus on those supported by elderly trials are provided. The chapter is enriched with case studies from various projects.

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