Public Awareness Campaigns on Suicide Prevention Are Not Optimized for Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives: Older adults have the highest rates of suicide of any age group. Suicide prevention campaigns have proved effective for other groups, but initiatives targeting late-life suicide are lacking. We assessed how the websites of the most visible suicide prevention organizations address the needs of older adults. Methods: We conducted a Google search protocol using the term “suicide prevention organizations” to identify the most visible organizations and conducted a qualitative analysis of their websites to assess their prevention campaigns for older adults. Results: We identified seven organizations. Five of these acknowledged older adults as a high-risk population, yet none mentioned public health campaigns targeting them. Just two provided resources for older adults. Conclusions: We identified an imbalance in suicide prevention efforts focused on older adults. Information, when available, was not easy to access on these websites. Addressing this disparity requires increased funding, research, and targeted campaigns for older adults while considering the existence of systemic implicit biases.