The Prevention of Suicide Among Older People in The Netherlands: Interventions in Community Mental Health Care

This article presents some thoughts on the use of television & other media for communicating messages designed to identify depressive symptoms & to counter suicidal tendencies in the elderly by mobilizing relatives & friends. Epidemiological findings on elderly suicide are presented, along with data on the role of the general practitioner & the mental health care system in suicide prevention. It is stressed that many depressed elderly people do not receive adequate treatment. (19 refs)