"It's a living experience" : bereavement by suicide in later life

Hafford-Letchfield, Trish and Hanna, Jeffrey and Grant, Evan and Ryder-Davies, Lesley and Cogan, Nicola and Goodman, Jolie and Rasmussen, Susan and Martin, Sophie (2022) "It's a living experience" : bereavement by suicide in later life. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19 (12). 7217. ISSN 1660-4601 (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127217)

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Abstract

Bereavement by suicide for people in later life is significantly under-researched. Research on ageing and suicide has yet to address the experiences of those bereaved by suicide and how such a devastating loss affects the ageing experience. Objectives: We explored the substantive issues involved in bereavement by suicide and its impact on later life. Methods: This was a co-produced qualitative study. Peer researchers with lived experience conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-four people aged 60–92 years. A phenomenological approach informed the data analysis. Main Findings: Themes described included (1) moral injury and trauma; (2) the rippling effect on wider family and networks; (3) transitions and adaptations of bereaved people and how their ‘living experi-ence’ impacted on ageing. Conclusions: It is important to understand how individual experiences of suicide intersect with ageing and the significance of targeted assessment and intervention for those bereaved by suicide in ageing policies and support.