Outcomes of a Two-Tiered Multifaceted Elderly Suicide Prevention Program in a Hong Kong Chinese Community

• Published in: The American journal of geriatric psychiatry Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 185 - 196
• Main Authors: Chan, Sandra S., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Leung, Vivian P.Y., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Tsoh, Joshua, M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Li, S.W., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Yu, C.S., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Yu, Gabriel K.K., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Poon, T.K., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Pan, P.C., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Chan, W.F., M.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych, Conwell, Yeates, M.D, Lam, Linda C.W., F.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych., M.D, Chiu, Helen F.K., F.R.C.Psych., F.H.K.A.M. (Psychiatry), F.H.K.C.Psych
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Inc 01.02.2011; Elsevier Limited; American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; China - ethnology; Cohort Studies; Community Mental Health Services; Female; Hong Kong - epidemiology; Humans; Internal Medicine; intervention; Male; old-age; Poisson Distribution; Program Evaluation; Registries; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Suicide; Suicide - prevention & control; Suicide - statistics & numerical data; Suicide, Attempted - prevention & control; Suicide, Attempted - statistics & numerical data; Hong Kong; China; Hong Kong China; Suicide; intervention; old-age
• ISSN: 1064-7481; 1545-7214
• DOI: 10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181e56d0f

Objectives 1) To compare the 2-year completed suicide and reattempt rates in a preintervention group of Hong Kong Chinese suicide attempters (aged 65 years and older) who received standard care and a postintervention group enrolled in a regional elderly suicide prevention program (ESPP) that adopts a two-tiered multifaceted care management model and 2) to examine the trend of suicide rates in older adults aged 65 years and older in the pre- and postintervention periods. Design The first part is an observational cohort study with baseline, follow-up, and outcome data being identified from a clinical electronic registry. The second part examines changes in suicide rates from official mortality statistics. Setting A government-funded suicide intervention program serving catchment population (852,796 people aged 65 years and older) in Hong Kong, China. Participants Suicide attempters (aged 65 years and older) presenting to old-age psychiatric service in the pre- and postintervention phases. Measurements 1) Two-year rates of completed suicide and suicide reattempt and 2) changes in population suicide rates in the pre- and postintervention periods. Results The 2-year completed suicide rate was 7.58% in the preintervention group (N = 66) and 1.99$% in the ESPP group (N = 351) χ2 = 6.192; p value: 0.028; df = 1). Reattempt rates were not different. At a population level, suicide rate dropped significantly only in women aged 85 years and older, relative to the preintervention period. Conclusions The ESPP was associated with a reduced rate of completed suicide in old-age suicide attempters and might have contributed to a fall of suicide rate in women aged 85 years and older.