Events

Acts of suicide, ideation, and self-harm in later life is a highly prevalent, but minimally researched, uncomfortably discussed topic in the United States. Yet the older adult presents with many or all of the primary risk factors:  mental illness (especially depression and grief/loss), medical illness, impaired coping skills, social disconnectedness, and functional impairment. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, stress, anxiety, fear, and sadness can all become exacerbated, resulting in symptoms of depression.  Furthermore, life transitions experienced by the elderly--including changes in the housing of oneself or one’s spouse--intensify the risk, making the transition to assisted living or long-term care a crucial point to deliver screening and intervention.

With depression as a third-level split in the PDPM Special Care High category, how prepared are you and your staff to address the identification of depression in the elderly population, and what signs go beyond depression to reveal active suicidal or self-harm risk? This session will discuss the prevalence of suicide in long-term care settings, the signs and behaviors that point to elevated risk, steps to improve the comfort and ability of staff to conduct effective interviews and risk assessments, the particularly high risks facing the incoming baby boomer population, and additional tips for addressing depression in this pivotal time. 

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the scope of the problem related to suicide and self-harm in residential elders including the changing perspectives of baby boomers.
• Identify risk factors for review in the client’s medical record and warning signs in observable behavior.
• Discuss assessment interview techniques specific to the PHQ-2 and PHQ-9
• Describe important actions in suicide prevention during the transition to residential communities and current suicide prevention strategies and program objectives for improving emotional health.

This program has been submitted but not yet approved for Continuing Education for 1.0 total participant hours by NAB/NCERS. 

To receive continuing education credit for LeadingAge PA-sponsored webinars, attendees must register under their name, participate through the link supplied after registering and complete the evaluation after the webinar.

We are pleased to offer this webinar at no charge to our members.  For non-members, the cost is $70.