• 한국노년학
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.601-616
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• 2017

Elderly suicide is a major public health issue in South Korea. The aim of this study was to systematically examine the current knowledge about suicidal ideation among Korean older adults with specific focus on risk and preventive factors. In order to achieve this aim, a meta-analysis was conducted using Korean academic peer-reviewed journals published since 2001. A total of 97 articles were selected that met the research criteria (e.g., original study findings and key words of suicidal ideation, suicidal thought, and suicide). Three domains were identified and used for further analysis: individual, family, and society. Results showed that among individual factors, depression and burden or stress increased the risk of suicidal ideation, while better mental health reduced the risk of suicidal ideation. Among family factors, living alone was a risk factor for suicidal ideation, while family cohesion was a preventive factor for suicidal ideation. Among social factors, elderly discrimination, social isolation, and negative relationships were significant risk factors, while social support, social environment, and social activities were significant preventive factors affecting suicidal ideation. The results suggest several practical implications for developing suicide prevention programs and counseling approaches to address suicidal ideation. For example, depression and stress can be reduced by MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) program where meditation is used as a coping strategy. In addition, counseling programs specifically focused on improving family and social relations should be implemented. Government should continuously support for these programs to prevent suicide among older Koreans.

• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.249-276
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• 2019

Purpose The purpose of this study is to develop a prediction model and decision rules for the elderly's suicidal ideation based on the Korean Welfare Panel survey data. By utilizing this data, we obtained many decision rules to predict the elderly's suicide ideation. Design/methodology/approach This study used classification analysis to derive decision rules to predict on the basis of decision tree technique. Weka 3.8 is used as the data mining tool in this study. The decision tree algorithm uses J48, also known as C4.5. In addition, 66.6% of the total data was divided into learning data and verification data. We considered all possible variables based on previous studies in predicting suicidal ideation of the elderly. Finally, 99 variables including the target variable were used. Classification analysis was performed by introducing sampling technique through backward elimination and data balancing. Findings As a result, there were significant differences between the data sets. The selected data sets have different, various decision tree and several rules. Based on the decision tree method, we derived the rules for suicide prevention. The decision tree derives not only the rules for the suicidal ideation of the depressed group, but also the rules for the suicidal ideation of the non-depressed group. In addition, in developing the predictive model, the problem of over-fitting due to the data imbalance phenomenon was directly identified through the application of data balancing. We could conclude that it is necessary to balance the data on the target variables in order to perform the correct classification analysis without over-fitting. In addition, although data balancing is applied, it is shown that performance is not inferior in prediction rate when compared with a biased prediction model.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.387-396
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• 2006

Purpose: This cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of health risk behaviors by gender and grade and to examine the correlation between health risk behaviors and self-efficacy in early adolescents. Method: The sample of this study consisted of 1.693 early adolescents recruited from 7 middle schools in S-Gu, Seoul, Korea. Health risk behaviors were measured by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBS). Self-Efficacy was assessed by General Self-Efficacy (GSE). Results: About a third of the subjects had experience in drinking behavior about 19.4% in cigarette smoking (including cases of just one or two puffs), 25.9% in physical fight, 29.1% in thought about killing themselves (suicide-related behavior), 1.5% in drug. More than a half (60.5%) experienced at least one health risk behavior. Female students were more likely to report drinking experience and suicide-related experience. Health risk behaviors were not significantly correlated with self-efficacy in early adolescents. Conclusions: Many early adolescents had experience in health risk behaviors in the past. The findings of this research suggest the necessity of intensive prevention programs in middle school to motivate and prepare students to avoid these behaviors. In addition, these results may help health professionals plan appropriate screening and counselling for health problems in early adolescents.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.709-725
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• 2024

This study utilized the raw data from the Community Health Survey (2023) to compare differences in body function, activity, participation, environment, personal factors, and suicidal ideations between elderly individuals aged 65 and older living alone and those living with families in Korea. The study subjects consisted of 80,618 elderly individuals aged 65 and older. Cross-tabulation analysis χ²-test), independent sample t-test, and logistic regression analysis were conducted. The results indicated that for both elderly individuals living alone and those living with families, age(p<.001), smoking(p<.001), stress(p<.001), depression experience(p<.001), and falls experiences(p<.001) were risk factors that increased suicidal ideations. Conversely, educational level(p<.05), income level(p<.001), subjective health status(p<.001), social participation(p<.001), economic activity(p<.001), community environment(p<.001), and social relationships were protective factors that reduced suicidal ideations. These findings demonstrate that demographic characteristics and individual health status significantly influence suicidal ideation in the elderly, while social factors contribute to a decrease in suicidal ideation. Furthermore, considering the differences found between elderly individuals living alone and those living with families regarding hypertension and gender, differentiated interventions for suicide prevention are necessary.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.200-208
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• 2008

Purpose: The purposes of the study were to understand the levels of older adults' perceived stresses in terms of family relationship, physical health, financial difficulty, death of family members, and household environment, and to identify the influences of the stresses on their suicidal ideation. Methods: The subjects were 302 older adults residing in Daegu, Korea. The data were collected by questionnaires between March and April 2007. Results: Older adults perceived the highest level of stress from the death of family members and had high levels of stresses from physical health, family relationships, financial difficulty, and household environment in order. The variables influencing suicidal ideation were stresses from family relationships, physical health, and financial difficulty. Conclusion: Based on the findings, it is recommended that nurses provide in-depth screening of suicide risk for older adults who visit general health care settings through the identification of the levels of stresses in terms of family relationships, physical health, and financial difficulty. It is further suggested to provide collaborative interventions between primary health care providers and psychiatric professionals for suicide prevention and treatment in older adults.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.551-563
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was conducted in order to investigate the incidence and associated factors of suicidal ideation among the elderly according to residence area. Methods: This cross-sectional study used secondary data from the 2011 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-2). A representative sample of 1,464 men and women aged 65 and over was selected. Rao-scott $X^2$-test, multiple logistic regression models based on sampling scheme of the data were used. Results: Of the 1,464 respondents, 22.4% had experienced suicidal ideation during the past year. Higher incidence of suicidal ideation was observed in rural seniors (23.7%) than in urban seniors (21.1%). The incidence of suicidal ideation showed correlation with age, education level, depression, stress, lying in a sick bed, and current smoking status among elderly living in urban areas. However, among elderly living in rural areas, the incidence of suicidal ideation showed correlation with household income, depression, stress, and daily activity. Conclusion: Based on the results, nurses should manage effective and individualized nursing interventions for elders in planning suicide prevention programs with consideration for residence areas, because there were differences in the factors affecting suicidal ideation among elders according to residence area.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.69-80
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• 2023

Purpose: Suicide ranks among the top causes of death among youth in South Korea. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of suicidal individuals treated at emergency departments between 2011 and 2020. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from January 2011 to December 2020 in the Injury Surveillance Cohort, a prospective registry. Patients' sex, age, mortality, methods of self-harm, and previous suicide attempts were analyzed. The methods of self-harm were categorized into falls, asphyxiation, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries, poisoning, and others. Sub-groups with and without poisoning were compared. Results: The proportion of self-harm/suicide attempts increased from 2.3% (2011) to 5.0% (2020). The mortality rate decreased from 10.8% (2011) to 6.3% (2020). Poisoning was the most common method (61.7%). Mortality rates ranged from 42.0% for asphyxiation to 0.2% for blunt injuries. Individuals in their 20s showed a marked increase in suicide/self-harm attempts, especially in the last three years. A large proportion of decedents in their 70s or older (52.6%) used poisoning as a method of suicide. The percentage of individuals with two or more previous attempts rose from 7.1% (2011) to 19.7% (2020). The death rates by poisoning decreased from 7.7% (2011) to 2.5% (2020). Conclusion: Our findings underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and suicide prevention policies. Managing and reducing suicide and self-harm in emergency settings will require a focus on poisoning, the 10-29 age group, and the elderly. This paper will be valuable for future policies aiming to reduce the societal burden of suicide and self-harm.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2008

Objectives: The study was to examine major factors that affect suicidal ideation of elderly in urban areas. Methods: The subjects were 302 elders who voluntarily participated in the study. The instruments for this study were scale for suicidal ideation(19 items), family concord (20 items), CED-depression(20 items) and family inventor of life events and changes(FILE, 22 items). Frequency, percentage, t-test, ANOVA, Duncan test, Pearson' correlation coefficient, stepwise multiple regression with SPSS program were used to analyze the data. Results: The average score of suicidal ideation was 14.88. Suicidal ideation was positively related to depression and stress, but negatively related to family concord, depression, family concord, stress and health status accounted for 86.1% of the variance in suicidal ideation. These results suggest that family concord, depression and stress can be potential risk factors for suicide of elderly. Conclusions: These findings may give useful information for developing suicidal prevention program on old age.

• 한국노년학
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.73-92
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to verify the influence of volunteering on the sense of community and the community capacity, and the mediating effect of the sense of community on the relationship between volunteering variables(the period and satisfaction of volunteering) and the community capacity as well. Study population is 1,416 elderly volunteers who participated in the government-sponsored elderly volunteer program for prevention of depression and suicide in 2016. The results show that the experience of volunteering plays an important role in improving the sense of community and the community capacity among the older participants. As for the analysis of the mediating effect, the sense of community has a perfect mediating effect between the period of volunteering and the community capacity, and a partial mediating effect between volunteering satisfaction and the community capacity. Based on these findings, the theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.42-57
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• 2020

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is indicated for various mental disorders (e.g., major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder) and the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia in elderly patients. Furthermore, ECT is a useful first-line treatment in emergency and crisis situations such as suicide risk, violent behavior, catatonia, and food refusal, which are more frequent in elderly patients. ECT is also effective in the treatment of the motor symptoms of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. Due to the high risk of various physical diseases, the comorbid physical conditions of elderly patients should be individually controlled to optimize ECT treatment. Compared to young adults, in elderly patients the seizure threshold is higher, the seizure duration is shorter, and the anesthetic dose is lower. On the contrary, the response rate in the elderly is both faster and higher. Considering potential cognitive decline and the prevention of further deterioration of cognitive function in elderly patients, in the absence of significant comorbidities, twice weekly sessions and right unilateral electrode placement with a lower seizure threshold and less cognitive effect are preferred to bilateral electrode placement, which has a high risk of adverse cognitive effects. After an acute course of ECT, continuation and maintenance of ECT, combined with prescription of therapeutic drugs, may prevent possible relapse or recurrence of mental disorders. In conclusion, ECT can be used to treat mental disorders in elderly adults, with safety and effectiveness comparable to that in young adults.