Elderly people who committed suicide – their contact with the health service. What did they expect, and what did they get?

Abstract

Objective: Contact between elderly patients and healthcare professionals may be crucial for suicide prevention if suicidal tendencies are revealed and help is to be provided. The objective of the study was to investigate how elderly suicide cases had perceived the health service and what characterised their contact with it.

Method: This is a psychological autopsy study based on qualitative interviews with people who had known 1 of the total of 23 suicide cases aged over 65. The 63 informants were relatives, general practitioners (GPs) and home-based care workers. The systematic text condensation method was applied to analyse interviews.

Results: Many of the elderly expressed distrust of health service once their functional decline began. They feared losing their autonomy if they became dependent on help, and many therefore refused health service provisions. Communication between them and helpers failed. As they gradually became more dependent on medical care, many experienced that they were not given the desired help, which confirmed their distrust.

Conclusion: Contact between these people and the health service must inspire confidence for it to prevent suicide. Elderly people at risk of suicide are vulnerable: they feel degraded if their autonomy is threatened by health personnel. The structure and organisation of the health service, and each worker's contact with the elderly, must preserve their dignity. Dignity must be evinced through the healthcare professionals’ treatment of elderly people and a system that meets their needs.

Keywords:

• suicide
• elderly
• psychological autopsy
• prevention
• qualitative