Weekly News Roundup – Aug 7 – 13, 2017
Every day we scan news headlines and social media for items of interest to the field of suicide prevention. Here’s what we found last week:
Featured:
Reducing the incidence of suicide on transit rail systems – Urban Mobility Forum
Summer Edition
This feature talks about our partnership with Calgary Transit, Distress Centre Calgary and LivingWorks Education Inc. to help reduce the rate of suicide deaths by C-Train. To date, Calgary Transit has trained over 500 employees in suicide prevention.
Bullying and suicide: What’s the connection? – Conversation
August 12, 2017
An analysis of 47 studies on bullying and suicide among students sought to answer the question “Is being bullied or bullying others associated with suicidality?” It was found that there was an increase in suicide attempts for both the person being bullied and the perpetrator, and this correlation was especially strong in youth who had been both the perpetrator and the victim. “Research clearly indicates there is an association between bullying involvement – on both sides – and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, it also suggests that there are factors beyond bullying that are relevant to suicidal thoughts and behaviors… In short, a host of psychological and other factors may contribute to suicidality.”
To learn more about bullying and suicide, check out our feature on the subject.
Suicide is much too common among US physicians – Scientific American
August 11, 2017
A study published back in May looked at US physician death data and found that suicide was the second leading cause of death for residents, and the most common cause of death among male residents. Despite this, residents have a much lower suicide rate than the general population and practicing physicians. Why the lower rate? This article suggests their many protective factors help keep them mentally healthy: problem-solving skills, social supports, links to mental health resources, reasons for living and financial stability.
The suicide gap: Why men are more likely to kill themselves – Healthy Debate
August 10, 2017
Canadian men die by suicide three times more often than Canadian women do – but women attempt four times more often than men. So why are men dying by suicide in higher numbers? Simon Hatcher, vice-chair of research for the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa says there are two main reasons: “One is that men use more lethal means [to attempt suicide], and the second is that they don’t seek care as much.” One possible solution to the issue of men not seeking help means addressing the ideas of masculinity that we hold in our culture. “I really do think our society and culture needs to take collective responsibility in redefining what it means to be a man,” said John Oliffe, founder and lead investigator of the Men’s Health Research program at UBC.
Centre for Suicide Prevention has many resources on men and suicide, available for free on our website.
CMHA shares details of developing suicide prevention strategy – CBC PEI
August 10, 2017
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) PEI Division is developing a suicide prevention strategy for the province in partnership with the provincial government. So far they’ve developed a work plan and identified key steps which include: an environmental scan of local, regional and national research and consultation with stakeholders this fall. “We don’t want to duplicate work that has already been done — we want to build on existing knowledge, research and recommendations. A careful review of this work along with a local environmental scan will help to inform and shape our stakeholder consultations scheduled for the fall,” said Amanda Brazil, director of policy and programs at CMHA PEI in a release.
Suicide prevention a priority, new national Inuit youth president says – Nunatsiaq Online
August 9, 2017
Ruth Kaviok, 19, is the new President of the National Inuit Youth Council (NIYC) and has promised to make suicide prevention a priority, as it was identified as an important issue in the NIYC summit which began July 31. “We’re [Inuit] not equal to the rest of Canada. That’s my goal, to make us equal with the rest of Canada,” Kaviok said, who was elected as NIYC president this past June.
Indigenous youth suicide death toll jumps by 3 cases as Toronto vigil grows, organizers say – CBC
August 9, 2017
Geoffrey Daybutch is one of many activists camping outside the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada office in Toronto who’ve been there for over two weeks, demanding government action against Indigenous youth suicide and holding a vigil for youth who have died. “It’s pretty scary,” said Daybutch. “The stats are rising …That’s disturbing to see that while we’re here trying to raise awareness.” Since Monday, three suicide deaths have taken place on the Pikangikum First Nation in northern Ontario.
Related: First Nations hold suicide-crisis vigil on St. Clair – Toronto Star
Sexual assault survivors have increased risk for suicide, mental health conditions – Medical Life Sciences News
August 9, 2017
An analysis in the Clinical Psychology Review journal has found that those who are sexually assaulted are at a much higher risk of anxiety, depression suicidality, PTSD, and other disorders. The analysis was completed on almost 200 independent studies involving over 200,000 participants.
Grappling with graduate student mental health and suicide – Chemical and Engineering News
August 7, 2017
The pressures of being a graduate student are sometimes overwhelming, and, along with other factors, may contribute to suicidality in students. Those who support graduate students have a role to play in ensuring they are mentally healthy, and can help them by holding events like stress-management workshops, or sponsoring peer-support groups for things like thesis writing. “You want to make it a culture in the department to acknowledge that graduate school is hard and there are things you can do to help cope with it. Maybe then people won’t get to the point of feeling trapped,” says Christa Labouliere, a clinical psychology professor and administrator for a suicide prevention program at New York State Psychiatric Institute, which is part of Columbia University Medical Center.
On this day 80 years ago, the gleaming new Golden Gate Bridge became a suicide destination – Washington Post
August 7, 2017
This article recalls the first person known to have died by suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge, a now infamous suicide hot-spot. Also noted is the astounding number of suicides since (1,600 by 2012), and the efforts being made to prevent suicides on the bridge. In addition to the existing phones that connect directly to a crisis line, work is now being done to install nets meant to act as barriers for people who jump, with installation completion slated for 2021.