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.
Language: en
Keywords
suicide; qualitative; self-harm; Asian; ideation; major depressive disorder; melancholy; older person