American journal of preventive medicine
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Suicide in later life is a major public health concern in the U. S., where more than 6,000 older adults take their own lives every year. Suicide prevention in this age group is made challenging by the high lethality of older adults' suicidal behavior; few survive their first attempt to harm themselves. ⋯ Second is research on the impact of general health promotion that optimizes well-being and independent functioning for older adults on suicide outcomes. Third concerns the study of approaches to the provision of mental health care that is evidence-based, accessible, affordable, acceptable, and integrated with other aspects of care. The fourth area of high priority for research is approaches to improvement of social connectedness and its impact on suicide in older adults.
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The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention Research Prioritization Task Force (RPTF) has created a prioritized national research agenda with the potential to rapidly and substantially reduce the suicide burden in the U.S. if fully funded and implemented. ⋯ The Stakeholder Survey yielded widely valued research targets. Findings were diverse in focus, type, and current phase of research development but tended to prioritize practical solutions over theoretical advancement. Other complex public health problems requiring input from a broad-based constituency might benefit from web-based tools that facilitate such community input.
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The Research Prioritization Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention conducted a stakeholder survey including 716 respondents from 49 U.S. states and 18 foreign countries. ⋯ Qualitative and mixed-methods research are essential to the future of suicide prevention work. By design, qualitative research is explorative and appropriate for complex, culturally embedded social issues such as suicide. Such research can be used to generate hypotheses for testing and, as in this analysis, illuminate areas that would be missed in an approach that imposed predetermined categories on data.