Psychology Commons^™

Now What Should I Do? Primary Care Physicians’ Responses To Older Adults Expressing Thoughts Of Suicide, Steven D. Vannoy, Ming Tai-Seale, Paul Duberstein, Laura J. Eaton, Mary Ann Cook

Steven D Vannoy

ACKGROUND: Many older adults who die by suicide have had recent contact with a primary care physician. As the risk-assessment and referral process for suicide is not readily comparable to procedures for other high- risk behaviors, it is important to identify areas in need of quality improvement (QI). OBJECTIVE: Identify patterns in physician-patient com- munication regarding suicide to inform QI interventions. DESIGN: Qualitative thematic analysis of video-taped clinical encounters in which suicide was discussed. PARTICIPANTS: Adult primary care patients (n=385) 65 years and older and their primary care physicians. RESULTS: Mental health was discussed in 22% of encounters (n=85), with …