THE EVALUATION OF SUICIDE IN ELDERLINESS PERIOD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL WORK

The process of ageing is a process in which individuals lack of physical abilities and experience the losses of role and status. The process brings some problems in terms of biological, physical, economic, psycho-social and social aspects. In the context of psycho-social problems, some problems such as depression, anxiety, loneliness and suicide occur in individuals. Being one of these problems, suicide can be defined as the attempt of putting an end to the life due to biological, psychological or social reasons. The purpose of this review is to offer solution alternatives from the perspective of social work by identifying the reasons of suicide risks in the period of ageing. Another purpose of the study is to make contribution to the professional literature related to the suicide in old age and evaluate the suicide in old age and lay out the insights about the topic from the angle of social work. In this regard, first of all, the concepts of elderliness, ageing and suicide are defined. Then the risk factors of suicide in old age period are discussed and social work practices towards the elderly are introduced. Last of all, in the results and recommendations section, solution alternatives towards elderly suicides are provided within the scope of social work.