title: Concerns of Older Veteran Callers to the Veterans Crisis Line.
abstract: When the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL) was implemented, it was uncertain if veterans, and particularly older male veterans, would utilize the service. We examined VCL use by a growing group of veterans at increased risk for suicide: those aged 60 and older. Real-time clinical data were gathered from a weekly random sampling of calls. Approximately 25% of calls were from veterans aged 60 or older; over 80% reported benefit from the call. Several significant differences in presenting concerns between older and younger callers were found. Targeted outreach to encourage older veterans to use the VCL is suggested.
authors.affiliation: VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kathy A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.affiliation: VISN 2 Center of Excellence for Suicide Prevention, Canandaigua, NY, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: King
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.|New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Madelyn S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Wendi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Wan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaukeinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Kerry L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Knox
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D013405:Suicide; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult