|
E-mail this page to a friend!
New Hotline, Website May Help Prevent Senior
Suicides
|
 |
|
|
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a
24-hour, toll-free prevention service available to all those
seeking help in suicidal crisis. |
Jan. 4, 2005 – Senior citizens are much more likely
to commit suicide than are younger Americans and today the government
launched a national hotline as part of a major effort at curbing these
unnecessary deaths among all Americans. The hotline – 1-800-273-TALK
(8255) - is part of the National Suicide Prevention Initiative (NSPI) -
a collaborative effort led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
In addition to the national hotline, a new website is at
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
Older Americans are
disproportionately likely to die by suicide, according to a report by
the National Institute for Mental Health in 2003. Comprising only 13
percent of the U.S. population, individuals age 65 and older accounted
for 18 percent of all suicide deaths in 2000. Among the highest rates
were white men age 85 and older: 59 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2000,
more than five times the national U.S. rate of 10.6 per 100,000. (See
more about seniors and suicide at bottom of page)
Suicide currently is the 11th leading cause of
death among all age groups in the U.S., accounting for approximately
30,000 deaths annually. More than 109 crisis centers in 42 states
currently participate in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and
they are seeking more. SAMHSA says they are committed to working with
state and local organizations, such as the Mental Health Association of
New York City, the National Association of State Mental Health Program
Directors, and community crisis centers, to expand the availability of
suicide prevention and intervention services.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is funded
by a 3-year $6.6 million grant from SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health
Services, which has been awarded to the Mental Health Association of New
York City and its partners—the National Association of State Mental
Health Program Directors, Columbia University and Rutgers University.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a network of local crisis
centers located in communities across the country that are committed to
suicide prevention. Callers to the hotline will receive suicide
prevention counseling from trained staff at the closest certified crisis
center in the network. A nation-wide public education campaign to raise
awareness about suicide and the national hotline is under development.
More About
Seniors and Suicide
National Institute of Mental Health, 2003
Depression, one of the
most common conditions associated with suicide in older adults, is a
widely under-recognized and under-treated medical illness. In fact,
several studies have found that many older adults who die by suicide—up
to 75 percent—have visited a primary care physician within a month of
their suicide. These findings point to the urgency of improving
detection and treatment of depression as a means of reducing suicide
risk among older persons.
Of the nearly 35 million
Americans age 65 and older, an estimated 2 million have a depressive
illness (major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, or bipolar
disorder) and another 5 million may have “subsyndromal depression,” or
depressive symptoms that fall short of meeting full diagnostic criteria
for a disorder.
Subsyndromal depression
is especially common among older persons and is associated with an
increased risk of developing major depression.
In
any of these forms, however, depressive symptoms are not a normal
part of aging. In contrast to the normal emotional experiences of
sadness, grief, loss, or passing mood states, they tend to be persistent
and to interfere significantly with an individual's ability to function.
Depression often
co-occurs with other serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke,
diabetes, cancer, and Parkinson’s disease. Because many older adults
face these illnesses as well as various social and economic
difficulties, health care professionals may mistakenly conclude that
depression is a normal consequence of these problems—an attitude often
shared by patients themselves.
These factors together
contribute to the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of depressive
disorders in older people. Depression can and should be treated when it
co-occurs with other illnesses, for untreated depression can delay
recovery from or worsen the outcome of these other illnesses. The
relationship between depression and other illness processes in older
adults is a focus of ongoing research.
More about Suicide on the Web
The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
www.mentalhealth. samhsa.gov/suicideprevention
This site links to the full report on the goals and
objectives of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, the
Institute of Medicine's Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative,
and the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide.
Additional links include news stories on suicide and other
health-related sites with information on the subject.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suifacts.htm
This fact sheet presents statistics on suicide
across the country from 1999, the most recent figures available.
National Institute of Mental Health
www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/depsuicidemenu.cfm
This site links to several publications on suicide
for the public and for professionals. Among them are a fact sheet,
frequently asked questions, information on teens and the elderly, what
to do when a friend is depressed, and information on the Suicide
Research Consortium.
Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative
books.nap.edu/books/0309 083214/ html/index.html
This report by the Institute of Medicine at the
National Academy of Sciences covers the incidence, causes, and
prevention of suicide as well as research into suicidality, treatments
for people who are suicidal, and recommendations for reducing suicide.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
