Abstract
Elderly suicide is a rising concern. Despite the advent of mobile technology, there remained a gap in the evidence base as to whether smartphone applications could be used for mindfulness intervention for suicidality in Asian older adults. This paper aimed to review recent research relevant to smartphone applications that could be used in providing mindfulness interventions for suicidality to Asian older adults. The inclusion criteria for this review were papers published in peer-reviewed journals from 2008 to 2018 with the usage of specific search terms, namely, ‘smartphone application’, ‘mobile application’, and ‘mindfulness’, assessed against the inclusion criteria and screened by an experienced Asian clinician to be of clinical utility for mindfulness intervention for suicidality with Asian older adults. Initial search on databases yielded 236 results. A total of 35 full text papers that fit the inclusion criteria were assessed for eligibility and 10 papers were included in the current review. This review highlighted the paucity of rigorous empirically validated research into effective smartphone applications that can be used for mindfulness interventions for suicidality with Asian older adults.
Highlights
Suicide rates increase with advancing age [1,2]
The aim of this paper is to review research relating to the evidence base for smartphone applications that can be used for mindfulness intervention for suicidality in Asian older adults
Papers were excluded mainly due to these reasons: They were not original research published in peer-reviewed journals after the year 2008, or they were not related to usage of smartphone applications by clinicians for therapeutic purposes with clinical utility for suicidal older adults in Asia
Summary
After the age of 75, suicide rates rise for both sexes for many Western countries [3]. In most Asian countries, suicide rates increase with age in both males and females but with a smaller male preponderance compared to their Western counterparts [1,4,5,6,7]. In both Taiwan and Japan, suicide rates recorded two peaks at the 20 to 30 years age group and the over 50 years age group [1]. The strongest predictor of suicide in older adults was depression with comorbid alcohol intoxication [9]
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