• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.167-176
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• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of suicide prevention education using the "Life Charger" program for older adults. Methods: This study conducted the "Life Charger"suicide prevention education with 95 older adults in the experimental group. Participants were recruited from a senior welfare center and a senior citizen center in D metropolitan city, and their attitudes toward suicide and sense of competence in providing help before and after the education were investigated. While no measures were taken for the control group, their attitudes toward suicide and help-giving competence were surveyed during the same period. Statistics were analyzed using SPSS 23.0, demographic variables of the experimental and control groups were calculated as percentiles, and Chi-square analysis and paired-sample t-test were performed to verify the homogeneity of the experimental and control groups. Results: To verify the effectiveness of the "Life Charger"suicide prevention education, the effectiveness of attitude toward suicide before and after the education was verified. The experimental group showed a significantly higher level (t=-6.34, p<.000). Their competence in providing help was also at a significantly higher level (t=-10.20, p<.000). Upon verifying the effectiveness of the program, the experimental group's attitude toward suicide was found to be significantly higher; however, the control group showed no change in attitude toward suicide and competence in providing help. Conclusion: This study verified that the "Life Charger"suicide prevention education for older adults was effective in increasing attitudes toward suicide and sense of competence in providing help. To increase the effectiveness of suicide prevention education for older adults, follow-up research should determine whether there are any actual changes after the training, and attitudes toward suicide and help-providing competence should be increase d through universal and repetitive education to prevent suicide among older adults.

• 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 Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.327-335
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• 2014

Objectives: Several epidemiological studies on medical care utilization prior to suicide have considered the motivation of suicide, but focused on the influence of physical illnesses. Medical care expenditure in suicide completers with non-illness-related causes has not been investigated. Methods: Suicides motivated by non-illness-related factors were identified using the investigator's note from the National Police Agency, which was then linked to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment data. We investigated the medical care expenditures of cases one year prior to committing suicide and conducted a case-control study using conditional logistic regression analysis after adjusting for age, gender, area of residence, and socioeconomic status. Results: Among the 4515 suicides motivated by non-illness-related causes, medical care expenditures increased in only the last 3 months prior to suicide in the adolescent group. In the younger group, the proportion of total medical expenditure for external injuries was higher than that in the older groups. Conditional logistic regression analysis showed significant associations with being a suicide completer and having a rural residence, low socioeconomic status, and high medical care expenditure. After stratification into the four age groups, a significant positive association with medical care expenditures and being a suicide completer was found in the adolescent and young adult groups, but no significant results were found in the elderly groups for both men and women. Conclusions: Younger adults who committed suicide motivated by non-illness-related causes had a higher proportion of external injuries and more medical care expenditures than their controls did. This reinforces the notion that suicide prevention strategies for young people with suicidal risk factors are needed.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.91-102
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• 2014

Purpose - Today, the importance of the service industry has increased. Social welfare businesses that follow the non-profit principle have neglected the distribution of the service. However, an intangible service, when produced and consumed, has a similar service delivery system to common service distribution and social welfare. Therefore, the author has assumed the efficiency of the service delivery system of social welfare to be equivalent to the service distribution industry. Hence, various kinds of social welfare services for the prevention of elderly suicide, from the perspective of distribution, are discussed. Studies on generational relations have thus far investigated depression from parent-children conflict, and satisfaction with their lives. Studies on the relationship between family solidarity and elderly suicide by analyzing existing social problems are rare. This study investigated the effects of family solidarity between old parents and adult children upon elderly suicide by analyzing serious psychological and social problems. This study revealed basic measures for elderly suicide prevention through services that could elevate family solidarity from the perspective of social welfare service distribution. Research design, data, and methodology - The subjects were 468 elderly, 65 years or older, at 18 senior welfare centers and halls for the elderly at Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Questionnaire surveys, excluding invalid answers, were analyzed. Convenience sampling was used from February 5, 2014 to March 5, 2014. The findings were: First, women and those having spouses with advanced educational backgrounds and social activities had primary solidarity such as contact solidarity, affectionate solidarity, functional solidarity (giving help), and functional solidarity (receiving help). In addition, those who had good health, from a subjective point of view, had more solidarity. Second, the elderly who were men and single, and who had poorer educational backgrounds thought of suicide, lacked social activities, and had poor health, from a subjective point of view. Third, family solidarity between old parents and adult children had significantly negative influence on the suicidal ideation of the elderly. Results - The study revealed the following implications. First, the preparation for old age should consider not only economic welfare but also the psychological welfare due to the relationship with children. Second, the phenomenon of elderly suicide because of a lack of family solidarity could increase national loss and have great influence upon welfare in old age. Therefore, planning of welfare services for the elderly should consider the value of relationships with children to improve the psychological welfare of the elderly. Third, the social expenses of government-oriented support for parents should be discussed from the people's point of view. Conclusions - The subjects of the study comprised the elderly at Seoul and Gyenggi-do; therefore, it would be difficult to extrapolate the findings to all the elderly in the nation. The subject visited senior welfare centers as well as halls for the elderly; therefore, it would be difficult to assume that the trends were representative of the elderly in the nation.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-118
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• 2017

Purpose: To identify the risk factors for suicidal ideation across the life cycle among Korean adults using data from 2015 Korean Psycho-social Anxiety Survey. Methods: The data were statistically analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression analysis. Results: The factors associated with suicidal ideation among the young adult group were education level (odds ratio [OR] 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05~2.49), self-esteem (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.12~1.27), stress (OR 3.26, 95% CI 2.07~5.15), anger control problems (OR 3.58, 95% CI 2.34~5.50), and depression (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.66~4.04) whereas among the middle-aged adults the factors were education level (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.12~2.23), existence of a spouse (OR 2.55, 95% CI 1.72~3.78), self-esteem (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.08~1.18), stress (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.81~3.33), anger control problems (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.22~2.36), and depression (OR 2.64, 95% CI 1.91~3.64). Among the older adult group the findings were the existence of a spouse (OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.37~3.39), self-esteem (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.13~1.32), stress (OR 2.21, 95% CI 1.38~3.54), anxiety (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.46~4.02), and depression (OR 2.48, 95% CI 1.30~4.72). Conclusion: The findings suggest that there may be a need for different suicide intervention programs to decrease suicidal ideation across the life cycle.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.267-276
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• 2018

The purpose of the study was to provide basic data for planning and offering nursing intervention to prevent suicide attempts by identifying the factors influencing the suicidal thoughts of depressed adults. The subjects of this study were 1,202 individuals who answered clearly in 2013-2015 National Health and Nutrition Survey. A composite sample plan file was generated using the IBM SPSS 23.0 program, and then the data were weighted and analyzed. Suicidal ideation was influenced by income (50-60s), number of family members (50-60s), marital status (40-50s), subjective health (30-50s, over 70s), stress (30s, over 50s), economic activity status (50s), diabetes (60s or older), alcohol consumption (60s), and Body Mass Index (BMI) (40s). These results suggest that tailor-made interventions for the prevention of suicide need to take into account the general and health-related factors of the subjects.