Centre for Policy on Ageing



Confidence of primary care physicians in assessing the suicidality of geriatric patients
Author(s)	Mark S Kaplan, Margaret E Adamek, Jennifer L Martin
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 16, no 7, July 2001
Pages	pp 728-734
Keywords	Suicide ; Symptoms ; Patients ; Diagnosis ; Preventative medicine ; General practitioners ; United States of America.
Annotation	Of 300 Illinois family practice, internal medicine and geriatric physicians selected, 63% responded to a postal questionnaire regarding ability to meet older patients' mental health needs. Six predictors of confidence in assessing suicidality were considered: confidence in diagnosing depression; suicide assessment training in residency; asking about misuse of medication; suicide assessment training at continuing medical education (CME); insufficient training in geriatric mental health; and geriatric specialism. All the training items were significantly associated with confidence in assessing suicidality. More effective mental health care will require specific preparation in treating geriatric patients through the full spectrum of medical training, including medical school, residency and CME courses. Improved prevention of older suicides hinges on enhancing clinical skills in diagnosing and treating geriatric depression. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-010815207 A
Classmark	EV: CT: LF: LK7: LK2: QT6: 7T
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.