Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-10-31T23:31:38.876Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Recruiting older men for geriatric suicide research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 August 2012

Sunil S. Bhar*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
Shannon Wiltsey-Stirman
Affiliation:
Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Washington, District of Columbia, USA Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
David Zembroski
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Laura McCray
Affiliation:
Department of Family Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, USA
David W. Oslin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA The VISN 4 Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) at the Philadelphia Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Gregory K. Brown
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Aaron T. Beck
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Sunil S. Bhar, PhD, Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre, Swinburne University of Technology, H99, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia. Phone: +613-9214-8371; Fax: +613-9214-8912. Email: sbhar@swin.edu.au.

Abstract

Background: Clinical research is required to develop and evaluate suicide prevention interventions in the elderly. However, there is insufficient information available about how to best recruit suicidal older adults for such research. This study evaluated the success and efficiency of five recruitment strategies for a clinical trial on the efficacy of cognitive therapy for suicidal older men.

Methods: For each strategy, the numbers of individuals approached, screened, and enrolled were calculated, and the expenses and time associated with each enrollment estimated. Men who were 60 years or older and who had a desire for suicide over the past month were eligible for the trial.

Results: Of 955 individuals considered for trial, 33 were enrolled. Most enrollments were sourced from the Veterans Affairs Behavioral Health Laboratory. Recruiting form this source was also the most time and cost efficient recruitment strategy in the study.

Conclusions: Recruitment strategies are effective when they are based on collaborative relationships between researchers and providers, and utilize an existing infrastructure for involving patients in ongoing research opportunities.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adams, J., Silverman, M., Musa, D. and Peele, P. (1997). Recruiting older adults for clinical trials. Control Clinical Trials, 18, 1426.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arean, P. A. and Gallagher-Thompson, D. (1996). Issues and recommendations for the recruitment and retention of older ethnic minority adults into clinical research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 64, 875880.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, A. T., Kovacs, M. and Weissman, A. (1979). Assessment of suicidal intention: the Scale for Suicide Ideation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 343352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bhar, S. S. and Brown, G. (2012). Treatment of depression and suicide in older adults. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19, 116125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bruce, M. L.et al. (2004). Reducing suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms in depressed older primary care patients: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 291, 10811091.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cassidy, E. L., Baird, E. and Sheikh, J. I. (2001). Recruitment and retention of elderly patients in clinical trials: issues and strategies. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9, 136140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury and Prevention Control. Available at: http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html.Google Scholar
Conwell, Y., Olsen, K., Caine, E. D. and Flannery, C. (1991). Suicide in later life: psychological autopsy findings. International Psychogeriatrics, 3, 5966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dombrovski, A. Y.et al. (2008). Cognitive performance in suicidal depressed elderly: preliminary report. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 16, 109115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duberstein, P. R., Conwell, Y., Seidlitz, L., Denning, D. G., Cox, C. and Caine, E. D. (2000). Personality traits and suicidal behavior and ideation in depressed inpatients 50 years of age and older. Journals of Gerontology B, 55B, 1826.Google Scholar
Heisel, M. J., Duberstein, P. R., Talbot, N. L., King, D. A. and Tu, X. M. (2009). Adapting interpersonal psychotherapy for older adults at risk for suicide: preliminary findings. Professional Psychology, 40, 156164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Katon, W., Unützer, J., Wells, K. and Jones, L. (2010). Collaborative depression care: history, evolution and ways to enhance dissemination and sustainability. General Hospital Psychiatry, 32, 456464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lapierre, S., Dubé, M., Bouffard, L. and Alain, M. (2007). Addressing suicidal ideations through the realization of meaningful personal goals. Crisis, 28, 1625.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leonard, N. R., Lester, P., Rotheram-Borus, M. J., Mattes, K., Gwadz, M. and Ferns, B. (2003). Successful recruitment and retention of participants in longitudinal behavioral research. AIDS Education and Prevention, 15, 269281.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lish, J. D.et al. (1996). Suicide screening in a primary care setting at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Psychosomatics, 37, 413424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McIntosh, J. L., Santos, J. F., Hubbard, R. W. and Overholser, J. C. (1994). Elder Suicide: Research, Theory and Treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrow-Howell, N., Becker-Kemppainen, S. and Judy, L. (1998). Evaluating an intervention for the elderly at increased risk of suicide. Research on Social Work Practice, 8, 2846.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oslin, D. W., Ross, J., Sayers, S., Murphy, J., Kane, V. and Katz, I. R. (2006). Screening, assessment, and management of depression in VA Primary Care Clinics: The Behavioral Health Laboratory. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, 4650.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osvath, P., Kovacs, A., Voros, V. and Fekete, S. (2005). Risk factors of attempted suicide in the elderly: the role of cognitive impairment. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 9, 221225.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, S., Mairs, H. and Borschmann, R. (2011). Successful recruitment to trials: a phased approach to opening gates and building bridges. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11, 73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, E. S., Myers, J. K., Lindenthal, J. J. and Tanner, J. (1974). Suicidal feelings in the general population: a prevalence study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 124, 460469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearson, J. L., Conwell, Y. and Lyness, J. M. (1997). Late-life suicide and depression in the primary care setting. New Directions for Mental Health Services, Winter, 13–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, C. F. IIIet al. (1999). Nortriptyline and interpersonal psychotherapy as maintenance therapies for recurrent major depression: a randomized controlled trial in patients older than 59 years. JAMA, 281, 3945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ross, S., Grant, A., Counsell, C., Gillespie, W., Russell, I. and Prescott, R. (1999). Barriers to participation in randomised controlled trials: a systematic review. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 52, 11431156.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salib, E. and El-Nimr, G. (2003). Utilization of psychiatric services in elderly suicide: analysis of coroner's inquests of 200 cases of elderly suicide in Cheshire 1989–2001. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 7, 121125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Unützer, J.et al. (2002). Collaborative care management of late-life depression in the primary care setting. JAMA, 288, 28362845.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Unützer, J.et al. (2006). Reducing suicidal ideation in depressed older primary care patients. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 54, 15501556.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Veitch, C., Hollins, J., Worley, P. and Mitchell, G. (2001). General practice research: problems and solutions in participant recruitment and retention. Australian Family Physician, 30, 399406.Google ScholarPubMed
Wang, J., Kushner, K., Frey, J. J. III, Ping Du, X. and Qian, N. (2007). Primary care reform in the Peoples’ Republic of China: implications for training family physicians for the world's largest country. Family Medicine, 39, 639643.Google ScholarPubMed
Wiktorsson, S., Marlow, T., Runeson, B., Skoog, I. and Waern, M. (2011). Prospective cohort study of suicide attempters aged 70 and above: one-year outcomes. Journal of Affective Disorders, 134, 333340.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, A. J. and Webber, I. L. (1976). Attrition in a longitudinal study of an aged population. Experimental Aging Research, 2, 367387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar