The Effects of elderly’s ADL, Depression and Social Participation on Suicidal Ideation

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of Activities Daily Living(ADL)(physical health), depression(mental health), social participation(social health) on suicidal ideation among community dwelling elderly. Methods: Samples were obtained from 184 people aged over 65 years old in one county of Kyungsangbukdo. The survey samples were divided into the presence and absence group of the suicidal ideation. Data were analyzed with x test, t-test and logistic regression analysis. Results: First, suicidal ideation were significantly different by religion. Secondly, after adjusting for socio-economic variables, logistic regression analysis showed that only depression was associated with higher odds of suicidal ideation Conclusions: It was suggested to develop customized depression and suicide prevention program were required to reduce suicide rate of the elderly.