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The relationship between elderly suicide rates and mental health funding, service provision and national policy: a cross-national study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 November 2007

Ajit Shah  and
Ravi Bhat
Ajit Shah*
Affiliation:
Ethnicity and Mental Health, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, U.K. and West London Mental Health NHS Trust, London, U.K.
Ravi Bhat
Affiliation:
Centre for Older Persons' Health and School of Rural Health, University of Melbourne, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia
*
Correspondence should be addresed to: Professor Ajit Shah, Consultant Psychiatrist, West London Mental Health NHS Trust, Uxbridge Road, Southall, Middlesex, UB1 3EU, U.K. Phone: +44 208 354 8140; Fax: +44 208 354 8898. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

Background: Elderly suicide rates may be influenced by mental health funding, service provision and national policy.

Methods: A cross-national study examining the relationship between elderly suicide rates and (i) the presence of national policy on mental health, (ii) funding for mental health, and (iii) measures of mental health service provision was undertaken by utilizing data from the World Health Organization website.

Results: The main findings are: (i) there is no relationship between suicide rates in both sexes in both elderly age-bands and different measures of mental health policy, except they were increased in countries with a substance abuse policy; and (ii) suicide rates in both sexes in both elderly age-bands were higher in countries with greater provision of mental health services, including the number of psychiatric beds, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and the availability of training in mental health for primary care professionals.

Conclusions: Cross-national ecological studies using national-level aggregate data are not helpful in establishing a causal relationship (and the direction of this relationship) between elderly suicide rates and mental health funding, service provision and national policies. The impact of introducing national policies on mental health, increasing funding for mental health services and increasing mental health service provision on elderly suicide rates requires further examination in longitudinal within-country studies.

Keywords

elderly suicidesservice provisionmental health policy and funding
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , June 2008 , pp. 605 - 615
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2007

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