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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Suicide attempts and completions in Veterans Affairs nursing home care units and long-term care facilities
— a review of root-cause analysis reports | | Author(s) | Peter D Mills, Bradley I Gallimore, B Vince Watts, Robin R Hemphill |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 31, no 5, May 2016 |
| Publisher | Wiley Blackwell, May 2016 |
| Pages | pp 518-525 |
| Source | www.orangejournal.org |
| Keywords | Suicide ; Depression ; Care homes ; Nursing homes ; Evaluation ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for Americans in 2010. The suicide rate is highest among men who are aged 75 and older. The prevalence of suicidal behaviour in nursing homes and long-term care (LTC) facilities was estimated to be 1%. This study described the systemic vulnerabilities found after suicidal behaviour in LTC facilities in the United States as well as steps to decrease or mitigate the risk. This was a retrospective review of root-cause analysis (RCA) reports of suicide attempts and completions between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2013 in the Veterans Health Administration LTC and nursing home care units. The RCA reports of suicide attempts and completions were coded for patient demographics, method of attempt or completion, root causes and actions developed to address the root cause. 35 RCA reports were identified. The average age was 65 years, 11 had a previous suicide attempt, and the primary mental health diagnoses were depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia. The primary methods of self-harm were cutting with a sharp object, overdose and strangulation. It is recommended that all staff members are aware of the signs and risk factors for depression and suicide in this population and should systematically assess and treat mental disorders. In addition, LTC facilities should have a standard protocol for evaluating the environment for suicide hazards and use interdisciplinary teams to promote good communication about risk factors identified among patients. Finally, staff should go beyond staff education and policy to make clinical changes at the bedside. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-160429250 A |
| Classmark | EV: ENR: KW: LHB: 4C: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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