Suicide is a major public health problem, with rates rising to their highes
t levels in many countries and cultures during the second half of life. The
risk factors that contribute to later-life suicide are distinctive from th
ose in younger populations. This paper reviews a variety of potential appro
aches for effective suicide prevention among elders, and considers as well
both age-specific and general barriers that impede such efforts. It propose
s that future effective measures will need to integrate public health and i
ndividual-oriented therapeutic approaches to intervention, and that specifi
c efforts will need to be developed to address the natural history of suici
dal processes.