“A Study to Assess the Level of Knowledge Regarding Preventive Measures of Suicidal Behavior Among Elderlies Residing in a Selected Old Age Home in Belagavi”

Introduction

Suicide at any age is a tragedy for the individual, his or her family, friends and the community of which they are a part of. Suicide is a major problem in today’s life in order to escape from the responsibilities. The elderly population has a significant risk of suicide when compared to other age groups. Elderly population needs more love, more care, and more attention. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young adults worldwide. There is a growing recognition that prevention strategies need to be tailored to the region-specific demographics of a country and to be implemented in a culturally-sensitive manner. ¹

The term Suicide is derived from the Latin word ‘suicaedere’, which means to kill oneself. It is also known as act of taking one’s life.² Elderly people are facing numerous physical, mental, social problems and these are the individuals who experience loneliness, depression, etc in their life. It may be due to either avoidance from the family, any major health problems, or the people who may feel that no one is there to take care of them at their old age. All these thoughts lead them to commit suicide or end their life.

In most countries throughout the world that report such statistics to the World Health Organization, suicide rates tend to rise as a function of age in both men and women to a peak in old age.³

Suicide is an important issue in the Indian context. More than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide in our country. In the last two decades, the suicidal rate had increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000.

In 2011, statistical reports stated that someone over the age of 65 commits suicide every 90 minutes (16 deaths per day). In 2013, it was reported that these statistics had doubled. Elders account for one-fifth of all suicides, but it only represents 12% of the population.⁴

About 800,000 people commit suicide worldwide every year. Of these, 135,000 (17%) are residents of India, a nation with 17.5% of world’s population. In 2012, Tamil Nadu (12.5%), Maharashtra (11.9%) and West Bengal (11.0%) had the highest proportion of suicides among large population states. According to National Crime Bureau, Karnataka was placed at a scary fourth in the list of states with a high rate of suicide for the year 2014, accounting for 10,945 or 8.3% of the total deaths due to suicide in the country.⁵ This is almost six times the national average. 

The suicide rate among elders is two to three times higher than the younger age group. Suicide among elderly population may be under reported by 40% or more. In recent years, United States has exhibited that suicide rates peak at mid-life for both men and women and decline slightly thereafter for overall population. Most of the suicidal attempts are reported in the younger age groups and the older population.

Hypothesis

H₀ : There will be no significant association between the knowledge scores of elders and the selected demographic variables.

Research Methodology

The descriptive approach was found to be suitable for the present study

Population

The population selected for this study included elderly people from Shantai old age home, Belagavi. Non-random sampling procedure of convenient sampling technique was used to select the sample of elderly subjects. The sample size for the present study consisted of 50 old age people from Shantai old age home, Bamanwadi, Jamboti Road, Belagavi. The data collection was done on 12- 03-2018 after getting permission from the Principal, Manager of the old age home.

Results

Structured interview was scheduled to assess the knowledge regarding preventive measures for suicide. The data was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. 

Demographic variables of the elderly people

Majority of the subjects 25 (70%) were in the age group of above 70 years, 15 (30%) were in the age group of 65- 70 years, while 10 (20%) were in the age group of 60-65 years. Among the 50 subjects, 35 (70%) were females and 15 (30%) were males. Regarding the type of family, majority of the elderlies 29 (58%) were from nuclear familes, 14 (28%) elderlies were from joint families, 7 (14%) had an extended family. Regarding the marital status of the included subjects, the majority 26 (52%) were widowed, 14 (28%) were married, 10 (20%) were unmarried.

The above table reveals that in the test, 56% of the respondents possessed average knowledge, 22% of the respondents possessed poor knowledge and remaining 22% respondents possessed good knowledge.

There was no significant association between the knowledge scores of elderlies and the selected demographic variables.

Conclusion

The present study was undertaken to assess the levels of knowledge regarding preventive measures for suicidal behavior among the elderly people residing in Shantai old age home, Belagavi, Karnataka.