Paper Session II – Mental Health Issues Affecting Older Adults
Event Title
Awareness of Suicide among the Older Adult Population
Location
BTSU 316
Start Date
24-4-2015 10:30 AM
End Date
24-4-2015 11:15 AM
Description
Suicide is such a big problem in the older adult population. Many of older adults deal with isolation, depression, and financial instability. When a person has all of these factors playing against them it is more likely they commit suicide. The purpose of this study was to bring awareness to the older population on how serious suicide really is. Thirty older adults participated in this study, the age range for these older adults were sixty-five to seventy-four, seventy-five to eighty four, and eighty-five and up. Fifteen adults were located in Cincinnati, Ohio and the other fifteen were located in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection of the data was done by random participants and snowball effect for the Cleveland participants. All of the participants from Cincinnati were located at support group for individuals who had lost someone from suicide. The findings from the study showed that many older adults are not aware that suicide is high in the elderly population, they also are not aware that men are more likely than their female counterparts to commit suicide. The limitations of this study were that it was only conducted in the northern and southern part of Ohio.
Keywords: suicide, older adults, social isolation, depression, financial instability
Awareness of Suicide among the Older Adult Population
BTSU 316
Suicide is such a big problem in the older adult population. Many of older adults deal with isolation, depression, and financial instability. When a person has all of these factors playing against them it is more likely they commit suicide. The purpose of this study was to bring awareness to the older population on how serious suicide really is. Thirty older adults participated in this study, the age range for these older adults were sixty-five to seventy-four, seventy-five to eighty four, and eighty-five and up. Fifteen adults were located in Cincinnati, Ohio and the other fifteen were located in Cleveland, Ohio. The collection of the data was done by random participants and snowball effect for the Cleveland participants. All of the participants from Cincinnati were located at support group for individuals who had lost someone from suicide. The findings from the study showed that many older adults are not aware that suicide is high in the elderly population, they also are not aware that men are more likely than their female counterparts to commit suicide. The limitations of this study were that it was only conducted in the northern and southern part of Ohio.
Keywords: suicide, older adults, social isolation, depression, financial instability