Page 51 - IJPS-10-2

International Journal of
Population Studies Experience of bereavement by suicide in later life

or loved one. Bereavement by suicide has been shown to of these different individual experiences and pathways,
be a traumatic and life-changing experience (Arbuthnott which are informed by the voices of older people and their
& Lewis, 2015) and is a known risk factor for suicide of the advocates within suicide research, points to the potential
bereaved-by-suicide person (Pitman et al., 2016). for developing more service user-led, possibly age-related,
The experiences of suicide bereavement of those in and social and therapeutic interventions (Kashaniyan &
later life however remain a significantly under-researched Khodabakshi Koolaee, 2015; Heisel et al., 2020; Hafford-
Letchfield et al., 2022b) that can be combined with
area. In this paper, a person bereaved by suicide in later medical and non-pharmacological interventions (Wand
life refers to someone who has lost a significant other (or et al., 2022). In summary, little is known about the lived
a loved one) by suicide, is aged <60 and whose later life is
changed due to the loss (Andriessen et al., 2009). experiences of people bereaved by suicide themselves, and
older people’s voices are notably absent from the current
A systematic review of studies of older adults bereaved suicide prevention and intervention strategies (Andriessen
by the loss of a significant other to suicide found that none et al., 2019; Linde et al., 2017). Further or wider research
fulfilled the inclusion criteria (Hybolt et al., 2020a). Two is required to generate practice-based evidence, which
subsequent qualitative empirical studies in Denmark (Hybolt identifies the impact of bereavement by suicide on people
et al., 2020b) and the UK (Hafford-Letchfield et al., 2022b) in later life. This includes how their needs for support
investigated the unique age-related factors for participants are currently assessed and identified and how to respond
impacted by suicide and their re-orientation to life after more holistically to people with psychosocial problems
such a devastating loss. These empirical studies, a broader stemming from such experiences (Hybholt et al., 2022),
review of suicide and aging research (Hafford-Letchfield et particularly those in a population with a high risk of
al., 2022a), and a review of the validated screening tools used comorbidities which may impact them differently to
to assess for self-harm and suicide in later life (Gleeson et al., younger population groups (Linde et al., 2017). In this
2022) have all highlighted the importance for unifying suicide paper, we suggest that looking at these issues through the
bereavement research with policy themes on well-being and lens of transformational learning theory may be a useful
aging (UN, 2020), including how these interact with ageism approach for understanding this potential to capitalize
(Burnes et al., 2019). Emerging recommendations advocate on the knowledge and experience of people with lived
for the greater use of community participatory research experiences in later life, and how they make meaning
methods and expansion of our understanding of social of these to enhance options for developing improved
and environmental determinants of thoughts and actions bereavement support that is tailored to their specific needs.
related to suicide, including bereavement (see also Hafford-
Letchfield et al., 2022b). Other evidence has shown that 1.1. Contribution of lifelong learning
people in later life have increased resilience and emotional to care in later life
control if they have had more experience with death and are We draw on educational gerontology to enable critical
better prepared to cope with bereavement in comparison discussion of the implications for future research, policy,
with younger people (Shah & Erlangsen, 2014). However, less and practice, and focus on the application of transformation
is known about the underlying mechanisms and correlates learning theory to examine traumatic bereavement
that contribute to different bereavement outcomes in later experiences more closely. Using a problematic frame
life. Findings from a large population-based closed survey of reference can help to challenge any assumptions and
(Pitman et al., 2019) to capture the use of a wide range of expectations such as habits of mind, meaning perspectives
formal and informal support sources of people bereaved and mindsets. Within ageing studies, educational
by suicide and any inequities in support could only be gerontology brings very specific approaches to aging and
generalizable to young, bereaved women due to the age range learning and can be a valuable resource for considering
sampled (18 – 40 years). how learning, particularly informal learning, facilitates
While it has been suggested that referral to specialist more inclusive, discriminating, and open and reflective
bereavement counseling and support can be helpful for experiences that may generate beliefs and opinions
people who actively seek it (De Groot et al., 2007), knowledge that can be used to guide future action (Mezirow, 2003,
about the efficacy of such interventions is currently limited pp. 58-59). Informal learning in this paper refers to the
(McDaid et al., 2008). The involvement of peers and peer- learning resulting from daily life activities, which may be
led interventions is well-acknowledged in health and social related to work, family, or leisure. Informal learning may
care policy discourse (Collom et al., 2019; Sun et al., 2022) be intentional but in most cases is not so.
including those bereaved by suicide (Higgins et al., 2022; Based on hitherto unreported data from a qualitative
Hybolt et al., 2022). Achieving a deeper understanding in-depth study of the experiences of people in later life

Volume 10 Issue 2 (2024) 45 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.0777