Sunday, March 9, 2014

Suicides in Singapore

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/140203/why-are-so-many-elderly-asians-killing-themselves

I found this article very interesting because often times we relate poverty and suicide and never considered the relationship between economic-growth and suicide. In Singapore, there have been higher than normal suicide rates over the past couple of years, and these rates are predicted to keep rising. There are several different reasons why this is the case. One is that because life expectancy is rising in Asia, so this means that the dependency rate is getting higher as well. More and more elderly people need to be taken care of, and with the one-child per family law, there are less young people to take care of them. Often times it is the women who take care of the elderly, but now more women are getting jobs. Another reason is that people are leaving rural areas to go work in the city, often leaving the elderly behind.

One solution Singapore has come up with, is creating centers of activities. These centers address the isolation issue by creating a space where people can come together and interact with other people, both young and old. I'm having a hard time thinking of other possible solutions, especially for those living in rural areas because they are hardest to get to, and are the most isolated.

Mental health services are already scarce in Asia, and with this drastic change in the economy, they are needed now more than ever.

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