title: [Suicidality in the elderly - what the general practitioner can do].
abstract: Suicide rates in Switzerland and most other countries are higher among the elderly than among the population as a whole. Suicidality in the old age is commonly associated with the presence of a mental disorder, especially depression. Medical doctors in primary healthcare have outstanding prominence in detecting suicidal states within elderly patients, because of their common long-standing and confidential relationship and the fact that suicidality is often concealed behind somatisation or other medical complaints. A new practical approach called PRISM-S task enables an assessment of the degree of suicidality in less than five minutes with a simple, visual instrument. Besides the importance of public mental health measures PRISM-S offers a brief, easy-to-administer method for all healthcare professionals to assess suicidality in adult patients (18-65 years). Further investigation will explore its specific usefulness for elderly patients (over 65 years).
authors.affiliation: Kompetenzzentrum Burnout und Lebenskrise, Privatklinik Hohenegg AG, Meilen.
authors.forename: Sebastian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.affiliation: Alterspsychiatrie, Integrierte Psychiatrie Winterthur - Zürcher Unterland, Winterthur.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minder
authors.affiliation: Bildung und Standesfragen Psychologie, Integrierte Psychiatrie Winterthur - Zürcher Unterland, Winterthur.
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harbauer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D058006:General Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D013405:Suicide / Q000523:psychology*; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
keywords: Erfassen von Suizidalität, PRISM-S; Mental health and older adults; PRISM-S; PRISM-S task; Psychische Gesundheit im Alter; Suicidality assessment; Suicide; Suicide Prevention; Suizid; Suizidalität bei älteren Patienten; Suizidprävention; médecine de premier recours; personnes âgées; suicide