National Suicide Prevention Strategy Research Articles

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Suicide has a devastating effect—but can be prevented

British Journal of Healthcare AssistantsVol. 6, No. 10 PolicySuicide has a devastating effect—but can be preventedRhidian HughesRhidian HughesSearch for more papers by this authorRhidian HughesPublished Online:16 Aug 2013https://doi.org/10.12968/bjha.2012.6.10.514AboutSectionsView articleView Full TextPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail View article References Barr B, Taylor-Robinson D, Scott-Samuel Aet al. (2012) Suicides associated with the 2008-10 economic recession in England: time trend analysis. BMJ 345:e5142. doi: 10.1136/bmj.e5142 Crossref, Google ScholarCentre for Mental Health and Risk (2012) Twelve Points to a Safer Service. www.medicine.manches-ter.ac.uk/cmhr/centreforsuicideprevention/nci/saferservices (accessed 2 October 2012) Google ScholarDepartment of Health (2002) National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England. http://bit.ly/azTX1 (accessed 2 October 2012) Google ScholarDepartment of Health (2012) Preventing Suicide in England: A Cross-Government Outcomes Strategy to Save Lives. http://bit.ly/RNmhgT (accessed 2 October 2012) Google ScholarMcLean J, Maxwell M, Plattet al. (2008) Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour: A Literature Review. www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/251539/0073687.pdf (accessed 2 October 2012) Google ScholarNational Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) (2012) Self Harm. http://pathways.nice.org.uk/pathways/self-harm Google ScholarOffice for National Statistics (2012) Suicide Rates in the United Kingdom, 2006 to 2010. http://bit.ly/RwLKee (accessed 2 October 2012) Google ScholarSamaritans (2012) Suicide Prevention Strategy 2012. www.samaritans.org/news/press-release-suicide-prevention-strategy-2012 (accessed 2 October 2012) Google Scholar FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited bySuicide: connect to the clinical, social and mental health aspects of care in a joined-up way12 September 2014 | British Journal of Healthcare Assistants, Vol. 8, No. 9 1 October 2012Volume 6Issue 10ISSN (print): 1753-1586ISSN (online): 2052-4420 Metrics History Published online 16 August 2013 Published in print 1 October 2012 Information© MA Healthcare LimitedPDF download

Suicide policy in Canada: lessons from history.

In Canada, suicide has transitioned from being a criminal activity with much associated stigma, to being a public health concern that needs to be managed by governments and clinicians in a culturally sensitive manner. In Canada and worldwide, the social attitudes toward and legal interpretation of suicide have been dynamic. Much has been proposed in the development of suicide policy in Canada, however Canada is unique in that it remains one of the only industrialized countries without a national suicide prevention strategy. The current article provides a critical review of the history of suicide in Canada, as well as an appraisal of Canadian suicide prevention policies and key government and political milestones that have impacted suicide policy. Current activity regarding a national suicide prevention strategy in Canada is discussed, as well as potential options for clinician involvement.

Suicide Policy in Canada: Lessons From History

In Canada, suicide has transitioned from being a criminal activity with much associated stigma, to being a public health concern that needs to be managed by governments and clinicians in a culturally sensitive manner. In Canada and worldwide, the social attitudes toward and legal interpretation of suicide have been dynamic. Much has been proposed in the development of suicide policy in Canada, however Canada is unique in that it remains one of the only industrialized countries without a national suicide prevention strategy. The current article provides a critical review of the history of suicide in Canada, as well as an appraisal of Canadian suicide prevention policies and key government and political milestones that have impacted suicide policy. Current activity regarding a national suicide prevention strategy in Canada is discussed, as well as potential options for clinician involvement.

The role of the high-risk approach in suicide prevention

Evidence favours the population approach over high-risk approaches to suicide prevention, but methodological problems may have obscured the contribution of the latter. This editorial uses the findings of a recent evaluation of a high-risk approach used in England to consider the role of high-risk interventions in national suicide prevention strategies.

Is Forecasting Future Suicide Rates Possible? Application of the Experience Curve

Many OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have implemented national suicide prevention strategies. An accurate forecast of future suicide rate, if available, will be useful for planning and evaluation of a suicide prevention strategy. Therefore, we have developed a simple forecasting model of suicide rate for 15 OECD countries. We use the experience curve model with the data from 1960 to 2005 to forecast suicide rate for each of the 15 countries. In the experience curve analysis, the independent variable is the cumulative population size and the dependent variable is suicide rate for each country. For the 15 countries, the application of the experience curve generates the averaged experience slope of 61.2%, implying a reduction of 38.8% in suicide rate as the cumulative population size is doubled. Using the estimated experienced equation, we forecast both suicide rate and the number of deaths from suicide in years 2010, 2020 and 2030 for each of the 15 countries. The use of the experience curve generates long-term future suicide rate which may be useful input in developing a national prevention strategy.

Addressing the Surveillance Goal in the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: The Department of Defense Suicide Event Report

The US National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy) described 11 goals across multiple areas, including suicide surveillance. Consistent with these goals, the Department of Defense (DoD) has engaged aggressively in the area of suicide surveillance. The DoD's population-based surveillance system, the DoD Suicide Event Report (DoDSER) collects information on suicides and suicide attempts for all branches of the military. Data collected includes suicide event details, treatment history, military and psychosocial history, and psychosocial stressors at the time of the event. Lessons learned from the DoDSER program are shared to assist other public health professionals working to address the National Strategy objectives.

Tracking a Movement: U.S. Milestones in Suicide Prevention

Suicidology and suicide prevention are relatively new fields of study in the United States, but they have made significant progress since their beginnings. This study aimed to identify the most impactful theories in the history of science and suicidology and the most impactful events in the suicide prevention movement. These theories and events were identified through expert nomination. The most impactful theories were those of Shneidman, Durkheim, and Joiner. The most impactful events included the opening of the first suicide prevention center and hotline, the founding of the American Association of Suicidology, and national publications (e.g., National Strategy for Suicide Prevention).

An Emergency Department Intervention for Linking Pediatric Suicidal Patients to Follow-Up Mental Health Treatment

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among adolescents. Many suicidal youths treated in emergency departments do not receive follow-up treatment as advocated by the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Two strategies for improving rates of follow-up treatment were compared. In a randomized controlled trial, suicidal youths at two emergency departments (N=181; ages ten to 18) were individually assigned between April 2003 and August 2005 to one of two conditions: an enhanced mental health intervention involving a family-based cognitive-behavioral therapy session designed to increase motivation for follow-up treatment and safety, supplemented by care linkage telephone contacts after emergency department discharge, or usual emergency department care enhanced by provider education. Assessments were conducted at baseline and approximately two months after discharge from the emergency department or hospital. The primary outcome measure was rates of outpatient mental health treatment after discharge. Intervention patients were significantly more likely than usual care patients to attend outpatient treatment (92% versus 76%; p=.004). The intervention group also had significantly higher rates of psychotherapy (76% versus 49%; p=.001), combined psychotherapy and medication (58% versus 37%; p=.003), and psychotherapy visits (mean 5.3 versus 3.1; p=.003). Neither the emergency department intervention nor community outpatient treatment (in exploratory analyses) was significantly associated with improved clinical or functioning outcomes. Results support efficacy of the enhanced emergency department intervention for improving linkage to outpatient mental health treatment but underscore the need for improved community outpatient treatment to prevent suicide, suicide attempts, and poor clinical and functioning outcomes for suicidal youths treated in emergency departments.

The role of physicians in advocating for a national strategy for suicide prevention

See also research article by Katz and colleagues on page [1977][1] and at [www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.110749][2] The burden of suicide in Canada remains high. In 2007, 3611 individuals died by suicide[1][3] — about 10 people every day. The age-standardized mortality for suicide that year

Characteristics of and trends in subgroups of prisoner suicides in England and Wales

The suicide rate is higher in prisoners compared with the general population. The aim was to describe the characteristics of and longitudinal trends in prisoner suicides in England and Wales. A case series was ascertained from the Safer Custody and Offender Policy Group at the Ministry of Justice and included a 9-year (1999-2007) national census of prisoner suicides. Questionnaires were completed by prison staff on sociodemographic, custodial, clinical and service-level characteristics of the suicides. There was a fall in the number of prison suicides and a decline in the proportion of young prisoner (18-20 years) suicides over time. Females were over-represented. Upward trends were found in prisoners with a history of violence and with previous mental health service contact. A downward trend was found in those with a primary psychiatric diagnosis of drug dependence. Drug dependence was found to be significant in explaining suicides within the first week of custody. The findings provide an important insight to aid a target set in the National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England to reduce suicides in the prisoner population by 20% and highlight an important area for policy development in mental health services. Examining trends identified subgroups that may require improved mental healthcare and recognized those that appeared to be having their treatment needs more adequately met. Evidence suggests that targeted suicide prevention strategies for subgroups of prisoners are required.

The relationship between the use of mental health act and general population suicide rates in England and Wales

:Background:The relationship between suicide and involuntary admissions has been mainly examined in younger and mixed age groups. These studies provide mixed results with some demonstrating no relationship and others reporting increased rates of suicides in involuntarily admitted patients. However, the association between the utility of the Mental Health Act with general population suicide rates in England and Wales has not been formally studied. Methods:Thus, an ecological study, over the 19-year period, to examine the relationship between rates of involuntary admissions and general population suicide rates in England and Wales was undertaken using nationally collected data. Data on general population suicide rates for both sexes were ascertained from the World Health Organization (WHO) website. Data on the number of detentions under the Mental Health Act were ascertained from the Office of National Statistics website. Data on the population size for the elderly age-bands were ascertained from the WHO website. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to examine the relationship between suicide rates and rates of detention under the Mental Health Act.Results:There were negative correlations between rates of involuntary admissions and general population suicide rates in both sexes.Conclusions:A causal relationship and the direction of causality cannot be assumed because this was an ecological study. There is a need for sufficiently powered study to compare the number of suicide occurring in involuntarily and voluntarily admitted patients using a case-control or cohort design and survival analysis. If an inverse association can be demonstrated between suicide and involuntary admissions then it has important implications for the development of mental health legislation as an adjunct to national suicide prevention strategies.

National Study of Suicide in All People With a Criminal Justice History

Previous research has focused on suicide among male prisoners and ex-prisoners, but little is known about risk in the wider offender population. To examine suicide risk over 3 decades among all people processed by a national criminal justice system. Nested case-control study. The whole Danish population. Interlinked national registers identified all adult suicides during 1981 to 2006 according to any criminal justice system contact since 1980. Exposure was defined according to history of criminal justice adjudication, up to and including each subject's last judicial verdict before suicide (or date of matching for controls). There were 27 219 suicides and 524 899 controls matched on age, sex, and time, ie, controls were alive when their matched case died. Suicide. More than a third of all male cases had a criminal justice history, but relative risk against the general population was higher for women than men. Independent effects linked with criminal justice exposure persisted with confounder adjustment. Suicide risk was markedly elevated with custodial sentencing, but the strongest effects were with sentencing to psychiatric treatment and with charges conditionally withdrawn. Risk was raised even in people with a criminal justice history but without custodial sentences or guilty verdicts. It was especially high with recent or frequent contact and in people charged with violent offenses. We examined a section of society in which major health and social problems frequently coexist including offending, psychopathology, and suicidal behavior. The need for developing more far-reaching national suicide prevention strategies is indicated. In particular, improved mental health service provision is needed for all people in contact with the criminal justice system, including those not found guilty and those not given custodial sentences. Our findings also suggest that public services should be better coordinated to tackle co-occurring health and social problems more effectively.

Canada suicide prevention efforts lagging, experts say

Thirty years after turning the international spotlight on suicide, Canada still doesn’t have a national strategy for suicide prevention. More than one million people around the world die by suicide each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Suicide is also one of the top 10

Multipronged Strategy Linked to Drop in Britain's Suicide Rate

Although a national suicide-prevention strategy appears to have contributed to England's declining suicide rate during the past nine years, a robust economy for much of that period may have helped as well.

Evaluation of the Suicide Prevention Program in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Using the CIPP Evaluation Model

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kaohsiung Suicide Prevention Center (KSPC) of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, during the period from June 2005 to June 2008. We used a modified CIPP evaluation model to evaluate the suicide prevention program in Kaohsiung. Four evaluation models were applied to evaluate the KSPC: a context evaluation of the background and origin of the center, an input evaluation of the resources of the center, a process evaluation of the activities of the suicide prevention project, and a product evaluation of the ascertainment of project objectives. The context evaluation revealed that the task of the KSPC is to lower mortality. The input evaluation assessed the efficiency of manpower and the grants supported by Taiwan's Department of Health and Kaohsiung City government's Bureau of Health. In the process evaluation, we inspected the suicide prevention strategies of the KSPC, which are a modified version of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy of Australia. In the product evaluation, four major objectives were evaluated: (1) the suicide rate in Kaohsiung, (2) the reported suicidal cases, (3) crisis line calls, and (4) telephone counseling. From 2005 to 2008, the number of telephone counseling sessions (1,432, 2,010, 7,051, 12,517) and crisis line calls (0, 4,320, 10,339, 14,502) increased. Because of the increase in reported suicidal cases (1,328, 2,625, 2,795, and 2,989, respectively), cases which were underreported in the past, we have increasingly been able to contact the people who need help. During this same time period, the half-year suicide re-attempt rate decreased significantly for those who received services, and the committed suicide rate (21.4, 20.1, 18.2, and 17.8 per 100,000 populations, respectively) also decreased. The suicide prevention program in Kaohsiung is worth implementing on a continual basis if financial constraints are addressed.

Is Forecasting Future Suicide Rate Possible? - Application of Experience Curve

Many OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries have implemented national suicide prevention strategies. An accurate forecast of future suicide rate, if available, will be useful for planning and evaluation of a suicide prevention strategy. Therefore, we have developed a simple forecasting model of suicide rate for 15 OECD countries. We use the experience curve model with the data from 1960 to 2005 to forecast suicide rate for each of the 15 countries. In the experience curve analysis, the independent variable is the cumulative population size and the dependent variable is suicide rate for each country. For the 15 countries, the application of the experience curve generates the averaged experience slope of 61.2%, implying a reduction of 38.8% in suicide rate as the cumulative population size is doubled. Using the estimated experienced equation, we forecast both suicide rate and the number of deaths from suicide in years 2010, 2020 and 2030 for each of the 15 countries. The use of the experience curve generates long-term future suicide rate which may be useful input in developing a national prevention strategy.

Preventing suicide in rural and remote Western Australia

Injury Control Council of Western Australia has implemented multi-level suicide prevention programs across rural Western Australia (WA) since 2005. Our work focuses on building resilience at a community and individual...

Suicide prevention by limiting access to methods: A review of theory and practice

This review discusses the limitation of access to suicide methods as a way to prevent suicide, an approach which forms a major component of many national suicide prevention strategies. An important distinction is made between efforts that attempt to limit physical access to suicide methods and those that attempt to reduce the cognitive availability of suicide. Physical imitations will be reviewed with reference to restricting access to domestic gas, catalytic converters, firearms, pesticides, jumping, paracetamol and methods used in prisons. Impacts of cognitive availability will be discussed mainly with regard to the media in terms of providing access to technical information and sensational or inaccurate portrayals of suicide. Drawing on psychological models of suicidal ideation and behaviour, this review explores how processes leading to suicidal behaviour and issues around method choice may relate to the effectiveness of limiting access to methods. Potential problems surrounding method limitations are explored, in particular the factors contributing to substitution, the risk that alternative methods of suicide may be used if one is restricted. It is concluded that in appropriate contexts, where substitution is less likely to occur, and in conjunction with psychosocial prevention efforts, limitation of both physical and cognitive access to suicide can be an effective suicide prevention strategy.

An examination of emergency department nurses’ attitudes towards deliberate self-harm in an Irish teaching hospital

The purpose of this study was to examine emergency department (ED) nurses' attitudes towards individuals presenting with deliberate self-harm (DSH), including the relationship between attitudes and factors such as age, academic achievements, length of experience, and self-harm education. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive and correlational design. ED nurses' attitudes, working in a level 1 trauma ED in the Republic of Ireland, were surveyed, using an amended version of McAllister's et al. [McAllister, M., Creedy, D., Moyle, W., Farrugia, C., 2002. Nurses' attitudes towards clients who self-harm. Journal of Advanced Nursing 40(5), 578-586.] Attitude Towards Deliberate Self-Harm Questionnaire (ADSHQ). The survey yielded an 85% (n=68) response rate. The study found that ED nurses held positive attitudes towards individuals presenting with DSH. No correlation was found between total scores and gender, ED experience, or a history of self-harm education, although older nurses and hospital trained nurses had less positive attitudes. Age and length of clinical experience produced a trend in which attitudes increased, reached a peak and then declined. Although ED nurses in this study hold positive attitudes, ongoing continuing education, which was identified as a key theme in the study, remains an important strategy to maintain and further improve attitudes. The need for research into aspects of care such as knowledge, awareness and empathy is recommended, as is the need to evaluate the extent to which the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention 2005-2014 recommendations [Department of Health and Children, Health Service Executive, National Suicide Review Group 2005. Reach Out - Irish National Strategy for Action on Suicide Prevention 2005-2014. <http://www.nosp.ie/reach_out.pdf> (accessed 22.02.08)] have been implemented.