Abstract
Suicide ideation in older people: A qualitative review and Meta-aggregation of Asian studies
Christensen, M., Chan, H.Y., Chan, Y.Y., Cheng, K.Y., Cheung, T.Y., Li, T.Y., ... & Ma, H.
Aims: To appraise and synthesize qualitative studies examining older Asian people’s experiences of suicidal ideation.
Design: Qualitative review and meta-aggregation.
Data sources: Four databases were accessed to retrieve papers published between 1990 and 2022 including the grey literature, hand-searching of reference lists of retrieved papers and key journals. The phenomenon of interest included participants older than 60 years old, must have experienced a form of suicidal ideation and/or an unsuccessful attempt, had actively thought about harming themselves and be of Asian ethnicity.
Review methods: This review was conducted according to Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research and the Joanna Briggs Institute’s System for the Unified Management of the Assessment and Review of Information.
Results: Of the 289 potential studies, seven papers met the inclusion criteria. Two synthesized findings resulted from this review–The Suffering Situation: A Life without Meaning in Older Age and The Healing Situation: A Life Worth Living. The experiences of older Asian people varied from feelings of loneliness, despair and isolation to wanting to live a fruitful life into old age.
Conclusion: Suicidal ideation in the older person is a growing concern especially with the rise in suicide in this age group. Rising health care costs and erosion of traditional family values means that the older person views themselves as a burden. However, because of the limited number of qualitative studies from an Asian perspective it is difficult to ascertain the full extent of the issues surrounding suicide in older people.