Challenges and concerns in assisting indigenous people with suicide attempts

There has been an alarming rise in suicide attempts among indigenous people in Brazil leading to national concerns about the provision of psychosocial care and professional support. In this study, we make an attempt to understand the  perspectives of professionals in assisting indigenous people from a specific group, the Iny, and identify the specific challenges […]

Global goals and suicide prevention in the Circumpolar North

The purpose of this selective narrative review is to provide an overview of suicide and suicide prevention in the Circumpolar North and the relevance of global strategies and policies to these themes. We conducted a selective review of the English language literature on Arctic Indigenous mental health, suicide, and suicide prevention. We briefly present the […]

Poor self-reported sleep quality associated with suicide risk in a community sample of American Indian adults

Study Objectives Although American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) have high suicide rates few studies have systematically investigated sleep quality and its association with suicidal behaviors in AI/AN. This study is a cross-sectional investigation of self-reported sleep quality and suicidal behaviors in an adult AI population. Methods A semi-structured interview was used to collect data on suicidal […]

Aboriginal and non-aboriginal emergency department presentations involving suicide-related thoughts and behaviors: Characteristics and discharge arrangements

Background: Rates of hospital admission for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (SRTBs) are elevated in the Northern Territory (NT) of Australia, especially by Aboriginal people, but very little is known about emergency department (ED) presentations. Aim: We aimed to profile ED presentations in the NT involving SRTBs by Indigenous status and compare discharge arrangements. Method: Logistic regression analyses were performed on […]

Non-fatal deliberate self-harm in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, Australia

Background: Indigenous Australians experience a suicide rate over twice that of the general population. With nonfatal deliberate self-harm (DSH) being the single most important risk factor for suicide, characterizing the incidence and repetition of DSH in this population is essential. Aims: To investigate the incidence and repetition of DSH in three remote Indigenous communities in Far North Queensland, […]

Strength-based approaches to suicide prevention with Native American youth

Learning Objectives At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Describe racial/ethnic differences in AIAN Youth suicide ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide deaths in order to assess co-occurring and risk and protective factors. • Define strength-based approaches to suicide assessment/prevention. • Understand how strength-based practices can be applied within individual, family, […]

Evaluation of the risk identification for suicide and enhanced care model in a Native American community

Objective  To prospectively validate a statistical risk model implemented in a community setting and evaluate whether use of this model was associated with improved reach of evidence-based care and reduced subsequent suicide-related behavior among high-risk individuals. Design, Setting, and Participants  This prognostic study, done in partnership with the White Mountain Apache Tribe, used data collected by the […]

Decolonizing education: Nourishing the learning spirit

Drawing on treaties, international law, the work of other Indigenous scholars, and especially personal experiences, Marie Battiste documents the nature of Eurocentric models of education, and their devastating impacts on Indigenous knowledge. Chronicling the negative consequences of forced assimilation, racism inherent to colonial systems of education, and the failure of current educational policies for Aboriginal […]

Indigenous suicide rates in the United States, Australia and New Zealand between 2006 and 2019

Objective: Indigenous suicide prevention is an important focus for national health policies. Indigenous suicide rates in formerly colonial English-speaking countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand are considerably higher than the general population, particularly in young males. Given the similarities in their sociocultural history, a time series analysis was conducted to assess recent […]

Suicide Prevention in Indigenous Communities: Proceedings of a Workshop (2022)

Indigenous communities experience higher risks for suicide compared to the general U.S. population, with suicide as the second-leading cause of death among Indigenous children and young adults in North America. To reduce this trend, it is essential for prevention and intervention efforts to build on scientific evidence; cultural and local knowledge; and the best community, […]

Weaving healthy families program: Promoting resilience while reducing violence and substance use

Purpose: We examine pilot results for the culturally adapted Weaving Healthy Families (WHF) program to promote resilience and wellness while preventing substance abuse and violence among Native American (NA) families. Methods: Results were drawn from paired sample t tests and analyses of variance (ANOVA) with a convenience sample of 24 adults and adolescents from eight NA families […]

Demographic and clinical presentations of youth using enhanced mental health services in six Indigenous communities form the ACCESS Open Minds Network

Objective In many Indigenous communities, youth mental health services are inadequate. Six Indigenous communities participating in the ACCESS Open Minds (AOM) network implemented strategies to transform their youth mental health services. This report documents the demographic and clinical presentations of youth accessing AOM services at these Indigenous sites. Methods Four First Nations and two Inuit […]

An overview of Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention in Australia

Indigenous Australians have a holistic conceptualisation of health, mental health and wellbeing, outlined by the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) framework. SEWB is affected by multiple, interconnected elements over the life  course. Mental health and suicide prevention programs that are framed using SEWB recognise that emotional wellbeing is comprised of a balance between 7 domains […]

Prevalence and characteristics of anti-Indigenous bias among Albertan physicians: A cross-sectional survey and framework analysis

Objective Recent deaths of Indigenous patients in the Canadian healthcare system have been attributed to structural and interpersonal racism. Experiences of interpersonal racism by Indigenous physicians and patients have been well characterised, but the source of this interpersonal bias has not been as well studied. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of […]

SPRC 2021 Tribal suicide prevention needs assessment: Aggregate technical report

Between December 7, 2021, and January 28, 2022, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and its partners at Social Science Research and Evaluation, Inc., (SSRE) conducted a Tribal Suicide Prevention Needs Assessment (TNA) with 200 suicide prevention coordinators or other individuals most knowledgeable about the suicide prevention efforts of tribes and tribal health boards (Area […]

Culturally adapting caring contacts for suicide prevention in four Alaska Native and American Indian communities

Aim Despite substantial tribal, state, and federal effort, American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) suicide rates have changed little in the last 30 years, prompting attention to new and innovative approaches to this persistent health disparity. Suicide prevention interventions with demonstrated success in other populations may be useful in AI/AN communities. Caring Contacts is a suicide […]

Is suicide a water justice issue? Investigating long-term drinking water advisories and suicide in First Nations in Canada

First Nations experience disproportionate rates of suicide when compared to the general population. Various risk factors are identified to increase understanding of the prevalence of suicide among First Nations, but environmental dimensions of suicide are understudied. This study asks whether water insecurity, as reflected by long-term drinking water advisories (LT-DWA), has any bearing on the […]

Mortality among First Nations people, 2006 to 2016

Background First Nations people were reported to have a shorter life expectancy and were more likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to die prematurely from avoidable causes. Methods Using the 2006 Canadian Census Health and Environment Cohort (CanCHEC), the number and rates of deaths for a 10-year follow-up period for on- and off reserve First Nations […]

Supporting Indigenous child suicide prevention within classrooms in Canada: Implications for school psychologists and educators

Indigenous young people in Canada are disproportionately overrepresented in suicide rates and alarmingly, young children are accounted for in these disparities. Since children spend much of their day at school, schools are a vital context for suicide prevention, identification, and intervention. However, research indicates that educators often report that they feel unprepared to address mental […]

Exploring sociodemographic correlates of suicide stigma in Australia: Baseline cross-sectional survey findings from the Life-Span suicide prevention trial studies

The risk of suicidal behaviour in Australia varies by age, sex, sexual preference and Indigenous status. Suicide stigma is known to affect suicide rates and help-seeking for suicidal crises. The aim of this study was to investigate the sociodemographic correlates of suicide stigma to assist in prevention efforts. We surveyed community members and individuals who […]

Risk factors for suicidal behaviors in American Indian and Alaska Native peoples: A systematic review

American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) experience disproportionate rates of suicide, but current strategies for suicide prevention have not reduced these health disparities. Therefore, to gain insight into factors that may affect risk trajectories for suicide attempts (SAs) among AI/ANs, we conducted a systematic review of the literature. Forty-five articles met inclusion criteria for the final corpus. […]

Stakeholder insights into implementing a systems‑based suicide prevention program in regional and rural Tasmanian communities

Purpose With emerging evidence indicating that systems-based approaches help optimise suicide prevention efforts, the National Suicide Prevention Trial sought to gather evidence on the appropriateness of these approaches to prevent suicide among at-risk populations, in regional and rural communities throughout Australia. The Tasmanian component of the Trial implemented the LifeSpan systems framework across three distinct […]

River of life: Aboriginal youth suicide workshop

The River of Life workshop is designed to provide information and interventions for caregivers working with youth at risk of suicide aged fifteen to twenty-four.