Search Results (10)

Suicidality poses a significant public health threat and stands as a leading cause of death and disability. Aside from committed suicides, a substantial portion of suicidal behaviors comprises suicide attempts and suicidal ideation. These events may be characterized by a non-fatal outcome, shedding light on the possibility of recurrence. The objectives of the present study were to assess hospitalization rate trends related to any suicidal event and to elucidate the risk factors associated with recurrent suicidal behaviors. In this population-based study, an observational descriptive analysis was conducted on all hospital discharge forms (HDRs, Italian SDO) registered for the residents of the Veneto Region from 2012 to 2021. Cases of attempted suicide (AS) and suicidal ideation (SI) were defined according to ICD coding. Age-standardized hospitalization rates were computed with the direct method. Join Point Regression was used to assess the significance of variations in trends. Factor risks for the reiteration of suicidal behaviors were assessed by multivariate logistic regression. Higher prevalence of SI occurred among individuals under 40 years of age and those affected by psychiatric disorders. Conversely, among individuals aged 60 and above, AS was more common. SI turned out to be associated with a higher likelihood of reiteration compared to AS. Individuals suffering from personality disorders and those with a history of AS as index case exhibited increased risk for the reiteration of AS. Females, younger individuals, and individuals experiencing SI as first episode were instead identified as more likely to repeat this form of suicidal behavior. Contemporary economic and environmental crises, a recent pandemic, and numerous conflicts represent significant additional menaces to mental well-being. Our analysis highlights a concerning positive trend in suicide attempts and ideations, underscoring the imperative for Public Health Systems to implement targeted preventive strategies and mental health promotion campaigns. In the absence of structured suicide registries, we demonstrated that HDRs can serve as an invaluable foundation for preventionists to address the phenomenon and strategically plan interventions. Full article

Background: Adolescents in South Africa have higher suicide rates than older people. A suicide or unexpected death of a fellow student can result in increased copycat behavior. Previous studies have placed emphasis on the significance of school involvement in the prevention of suicide. The study sought to explore the perspective on the prevention of suicide among school learners by school management. A qualitative phenomenological design was applied. The study used purposive sampling to select six high schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with six focus group discussions comprising fifty school management. A semi-structured interview guide guided the interviews. Data were analyzed using a general inductive approach. Findings revealed that school management should be supported through workshops to increase their skills in handling stressful situations at school. Support for learners through audio-visuals, professional counseling, and awareness campaigns also emerged. Parents–school partnership was said to be effective in preventing suicide among learners as both parties will be free to discuss the problems faced by the learner. In conclusion, empowering school management in the prevention of suicide is critical for Limpopo learners. Awareness campaigns conducted by suicide survivors where they can share their testimonies is necessary. School-based professional counseling services should be established to benefit all learners, particularly those experiencing financial challenges. Pamphlets in local languages should be developed for students to convey information about suicide. Full article

Signs of suicidal depression often go undetected in primary care settings. This study explored predictive factors for depression with suicidal ideation (DSI) among middle-aged primary care patients at 6 months after an initial clinic visit. New patients aged 35–64 years were recruited from internal medicine clinics in Japan. Baseline characteristics were elicited using self-administered and physician questionnaires. DSI was evaluated using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and the Profile of Mood States at enrollment and 6 months later. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to calculate adjusted odds ratios for DSI. Sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios for associated factors were calculated. Among 387 patients, 13 (3.4%) were assessed as having DSI at 6 months. Adjusted for sex, age, and related factors, significant odds ratios for DSI were observed for “fatigue on waking ≥1/month” (7.90, 95% confidence intervals: 1.06–58.7), “fatigue on waking ≥1/week” (6.79, 1.02–45.1), “poor sleep status” (8.19, 1.05–63.8), and “relationship problems in the workplace” (4.24, 1.00–17.9). Fatigue on waking, sleep status, and workplace relationship problems may help predict DSI in primary care. Because the sample size in this investigation was small, further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our findings. Full article

Suicide risk is associated with vulnerabilities and specific life events. The study’s objective was to explore the relevance of data from forensic documentation on suicide deaths to the design of person-centered preventive strategies. Descriptive and thematic analyses were conducted of forensic observations of 286 deaths by suicide, including some with suicide notes. Key findings included the influence of health-and family-related adverse events, emotional states of loss and sadness, and failures of the health system to detect and act on signs of vulnerability, as confirmed by the suicide notes. Forensic documentation provides useful information to improve the targeting of preventive campaigns. Full article

In early February 2022, the Japanese government sent COVID-19 vaccine vouchers to children ages 5–11. Using keywords obtained from the voucher, the frequently asked questions section, and experts, we descriptively analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of vaccination for children and their parents through a web-based literature survey of media articles and government homepage statements in Japan. For children, vaccination helps prevent severe symptoms and may be particularly beneficial for children in low-income families by lowering the rate of suicide and at-home child abuse. For parents, not vaccinating their child allows them to fulfill a more traditional role as a parent (mothers in particular), reduces the gender gap for mothers, and provides greater peace of mind about their child’s future fertility. We also examined the governmental vaccination campaigns targeting children from public health perspectives. We argue that the letter accompanying the vaccine voucher should clearly emphasize that further transmission will be prevented, reducing domestic infection. In addition to the biological dimensions of COVID-19 in Japan, we emphasize cultural issues and hope that these can be useful for other countries as they create their own vaccination strategies. Public health in Japan could be promoted if all citizens, regardless of age, acquired fundamental knowledge and skills, the motivation to learn, and the ability to utilize knowledge and skills and think, judge, and express personal ideas. Full article

Background: Economic growth in China has brought about significant social and psychological changes in society. Objective: This study aims to explore how the mental and psychological health of college students has changed over the past decade. Methods: We observed several cohort samples in a Chinese university over a decade and looked at five mental health outcomes, including suicidal ideation, depression, optimism, self-esteem, and perceived social support, throughout each year of testing. Results: Our study highlights the declining rates of suicidal ideation and depression, combined with relative stability and even small increases in optimism, self-esteem, and perceived social support across a range of demographic variables. Conclusions: The findings of this study imply that in the context of economic growth, stabilizing and improving positive mental health states can help prevent and reduce the risk of depression and suicidal ideation among college students. The study also highlighted the need for more public health campaigns and interventions in universities to help students cope with mental health problems. Full article

Background: Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in Australia. Media campaigns have the potential to reach a broad audience, change attitudes and behaviours, and, ultimately, help prevent suicide. Little is known about the type of content or format suicide prevention media message should take to help prevent suicide among young people. Objective: the objective of this study was to involve young people aged 18 to 24 years in developing three suicide prevention public service announcement (PSAs) targeting young people at risk of suicide appropriate for testing in a randomised controlled trial (RCT). Method: fifteen young people attended at least one of four workshops in Melbourne, Australia. The workshops focused on exploring the appropriateness of three key suicide prevention media PSAs: “Talk to someone”, “Find what works for you”, and “Life can get better”. Young people also provided input into message content, format, and design. Results: participants perceived that all three suicide prevention PSAs were useful and helpful. Participants were concerned that the PSAs may not be suitable for nonwestern cultural groups, could trivialise psychological suffering, and that the actions they promoted could seem distant or unattainable to young people at risk. The featuring of young people, especially young people with hopeful narratives of how they overcame a suicidal crisis, was considered to be an important characteristic of suicide prevention PSAs targeting young people. Conclusions: Developing suicide prevention PSAs with young people is rare but essential to better understand young people’s needs and improve the quality of suicide prevention media PSAs. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of suicide prevention PSAs developed by young people, for young people. Full article

Live-stream suicide has become an emerging public health problem in many countries. Regular users are often the first to witness and respond to such suicides, emphasizing their impact on the success of crisis intervention. In order to reduce the likelihood of suicide deaths, this paper aims to use psycholinguistic analysis methods to facilitate automatic detection of negative expressions in responses to live-stream suicides on social media. In this paper, a total of 7212 comments posted on suicide-related messages were collected and analyzed. First, a content analysis was performed to investigate the nature of each comment (negative or not). Second, the simplified Chinese version of the LIWC software was used to extract 75 psycholinguistic features from each comment. Third, based on 19 selected key features, four classification models were established to differentiate between comments with and without negative expressions. Results showed that 19.55% of 7212 comments were recognized as “making negative responses”. Among the four classification models, the highest values of Precision, Recall, F-Measure, and Screening Efficacy reached 69.8%, 85.9%, 72.9%, and 47.1%, respectively. This paper confirms the need for campaigns to reduce negative responses to live-stream suicides and support the use of psycholinguistic analysis methods to improve suicide prevention efforts. Full article

The European Alliance against Depression (EAAD) program is to be introduced in The Netherlands from 2017 onwards. This program to combat suicide consists of interventions on four levels: (1) increasing the awareness of suicide by local media campaigns; (2) training local gatekeepers, such as teachers or police officers; (3) targeting high-risk persons in the community; and (4) training and support of professionals in primary care settings. The implementation starts in seven Dutch pilot regions. Each region is designated as a Suicide Prevention Action NETwork (SUPRANET). This paper describes the SUPRANET program components and the evaluation of its feasibility and impact. The findings will be used to facilitate the national implementation of EAAD in The Netherlands and to add new findings to the existing literature on EAAD. Full article

Educational posters are used to enhance knowledge, attitudes and self-confidence of patients. Little is known on their effectiveness for educating health care professionals. As these professionals may play an important role in suicide prevention, the effects of a poster and accompanying evaluation and triage guide on knowledge, self-confidence and attitudes regarding suicidal thoughts and behaviours, were studied in a multicentre cluster randomised controlled trial, involving staff from 39 emergency and 38 psychiatric departments throughout Flanders (n = 1171). Structured self-report questionnaires assessed the knowledge, confidence and beliefs regarding suicidal behaviour management, and attitudes. Data were analysed through a Solomon four-group design, with random assignment to the different conditions. Baseline scores for knowledge and provider confidence were high. The poster and accompanying evaluation and triage guide did not have an effect on knowledge about suicide and self-confidence in suicidal behaviour management. However, the poster campaign appeared to be beneficial for attitudes towards suicidal patients, but only among staff from mental health departments that were assigned to the un-pretested condition. Given the limited effects of the poster campaign in the studied population with a relatively high baseline knowledge, the evaluation of this poster as part of a multimodal educational programme in a more heterogeneous sample of health care professionals is recommended. Full article