@article{ref1,
title="Protective factors against suicide among young-old Chinese outpatients",
journal="BMC public health",
year="2014",
author="Chen, Ying-Jen and Tsai, Yun-Fang and Lee, Shwu-Hua and Lee, Hsiu-Lan",
volume="14",
number="1",
pages="372-372",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Suicide is common among the elderly worldwide. However, no literature could be found on the beliefs/expectations that protect young-old people from attempting suicide. The purpose of this study was to explore young-old outpatients' reasons for not killing themselves in Taiwan. <br><br>METHOD: Data for this qualitative descriptive study were extracted from a large research series. From the 83 elderly outpatients in the original sample, 31 were chosen for this study because they were young-old (65-74 years old) and from two randomly selected medical centers in northern Taiwan. Data on participants' reasons for not killing themselves in unhappy situations were collected in individual interviews using a semi-structured guide and analyzed by content analysis. <br><br>RESULTS: Analysis of interview data identified six major themes: satisfied with one's life, suicide cannot resolve problems, fear of humiliating one's children, religious beliefs, never thought about suicide, and living in harmony with nature. <br><br>CONCLUSION: These identified protective factors (reasons for living) could be added to suicide-prevention programs for the elderly. Our findings may also serve as a reference for geriatric researchers in western countries with increasing numbers of elderly ethnic minority immigrants.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1471-2458",
doi="10.1186/1471-2458-14-372",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-372"
}