Monday, March 5, 2018

Too many Australians living in nursing homes take their own lives

11:42 AM    
Around 140 Australian nursing-home

residents took their own lives between 2000 and 2013, our new study shows. Published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, the study is the first to examine the number and patterns of suicide in Australia’s nursing homes, and the largest such investigation in the world.
We found nearly 70% of those who took their own life were male, 66% had a diagnosis of depression and nearly 80% were experiencing one or more major life stresses, such as health deterioration. Around 43% were experiencing isolation and loneliness, and nearly 30% had trouble adjusting to life in a nursing home.