Gaddis Katherine, Woollen Katharine C, Johnson Liam J, Flaherty Taylor, Byrnes Jennifer F
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 S. Maryland Pkwy., Las Vegas, NV, 89154, USA.
Forensic Sci Int Synerg. 2024 Jan 17;8:100454. doi: 10.1016/j.fsisyn.2024.100454. eCollection 2024.
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected all aspects of life in the United States and around the world. This is particularly true for marginalized and vulnerable groups who face disproportionate levels of violence and premature death within their communities. While general impacts of the pandemic have been well-studied overall, little has been done to examine the correlation between COVID-19 and the risk of suicide among older adults. Older adults are particularly at risk because they face challenges including ageism, inadequate support systems, unreliable transportation, and frequent social isolation. Medicolegal casework offers a unique vantage of these issues, as it aims to identify manner of death which may be influenced by underlying structural vulnerabilities. The current research draws upon data collected from the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner. A sample of 871 older adults (aged 50+), whose manner of death was deemed a suicide between the years 2017-2021, were included in this analysis. Statistical analyses investigated differences between adults aged 50-64, 65-84, and 85+ years. Results suggest statistically significant changes in mechanism of death between pre-pandemic and pandemic periods, indicating a shift in risk factors related to social isolation and the home environment. Understanding such changes in trends directly affects the interpretation of skeletal data in forensic anthropology and thus, should be taken into consideration when developing structural vulnerability profiles. Furthermore, the inclusion of a structural vulnerability approach in forensic case reports has the potential to provide additional context for deaths by suicide and may help develop policies and procedures for mitigating future risk.
持续的新型冠状病毒（COVID-19）大流行已经影响了美国乃至全世界生活的方方面面。对于那些在其社区中面临不成比例的暴力和过早死亡的边缘化和弱势群体来说尤其如此。虽然总体上对大流行的一般影响已经进行了充分研究，但在研究COVID-19与老年人自杀风险之间的相关性方面做得很少。老年人尤其面临风险，因为他们面临包括年龄歧视、支持系统不足、交通不便以及频繁的社会隔离等挑战。法医案件工作为这些问题提供了一个独特的视角，因为它旨在确定可能受到潜在结构脆弱性影响的死亡方式。当前的研究利用了从克拉克县验尸官/法医办公室收集的数据。本分析纳入了871名年龄在50岁及以上、死亡方式被判定为自杀的老年人样本，这些自杀事件发生在2017年至2021年期间。统计分析调查了50 - 64岁、65 - 84岁和85岁及以上成年人之间的差异。结果表明，在大流行前和大流行期间死亡机制存在统计学上的显著变化，这表明与社会隔离和家庭环境相关的风险因素发生了转变。了解这种趋势变化直接影响法医人类学中骨骼数据的解释，因此，在制定结构脆弱性概况时应予以考虑。此外，在法医案件报告中纳入结构脆弱性方法有可能为自杀死亡提供更多背景信息，并可能有助于制定减轻未来风险的政策和程序。
