Resource Tag: PUBLIC HEALTH

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is frequently encountered in adolescents, but its predictive value for suicidality or other clinical characteristics is challenging due to its heterogeneous nature. This study used latent class analysis to identify subgroups of NSSI and compared these on sociodemographic characteristics, adverse outcomes and protective factors. The study included 966 high-risk adolescents, Mage 14.9 […]

Background: In 2017, the Quebec government assigned the Association québécoise de prévention du suicide (AQPS) to develop a digital suicide prevention strategy (DSPS). The AQPS responded by creating a centralized website that provides information on suicide and mental  health, identifies at-risk individuals on the internet, and offers direct crisis intervention support via chat and text. […]

Background: Disasters and public health emergencies increasingly affect populations around the world, posing significant wide-ranging challenges for societies as well as for effective public health and suicide prevention. Intervention research is essential to inform evidence-based responses. Yet, despite evident public concern and growing research interest in heightened suicide risks and impacts, little is known about effective […]

National suicide prevention strategies have been identified as evidence-informed interventions that require multisectoral efforts by governments. This article reviews the rationale for national strategies, the need for a whole-of-government approach, and current progress on national strategies worldwide, including successes and challenges regarding implementation. We highlight the limitations of existing evidence and describe how future research […]

Background: Disasters and public health emergencies increasingly affect populations around the world, posing significant wide-ranging challenges for societies as well as for effective public health and suicide prevention. Intervention research is essential to inform evidence-based responses. Yet, despite evident public concern and growing research interest in heightened suicide risks and impacts, little is known about effective […]

The United Nations Organizations observe various global public health days (GPHDs) (also known as world days) throughout the year. We aimed to assess the impact of GPSDs on online health information-seeking behavior related to substance use in the Indian context. We used the Google Trends data for this study using standard guidelines. We conducted a […]

Objective: Each year approximately 3,000 Australians die by suicide. We estimated the population attributable risk for identified target populations to provide evidence on how much of the overall burden of suicide in the Australian population is experienced by each of them. Methods: We identified 17 demographic and clinical target populations at risk of suicide and calculated the […]

Introduction Suicide is one of the leading causes of death, with a trend for its increase in Brazil in past decades. This study aimed to review the characteristics of suicides in Brazilian postmortem studies. Methods Studies investigating suicide deaths in Brazil, and based on autopsy or psychological autopsy were included. Proportions were pooled across studies […]

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought numerous challenges, including the management of psychological and psychiatric disorders, leading to an increased risk of suicide. At the end of the COVID-19 emergency, we wonder what the impact of the pandemic has been, and still is, on the state of public mental health with […]

Suicide is a major global public health problem, with profound implications for individuals, families, and communities. In the United Kingdom (UK), despite efforts to detect and manage suicidal ideas, suicide rates persist, especially among middle-aged men and women, particularly those aged 45 to 54 years. Recent global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, […]

This essay critically examines the biopoliticization of suicide, challenging its framing as a public health issue which obscures its cultural and philosophical significance. Drawing from Michel Foucault’s theories of biopower, this essay argues that suicide is externalized, massified, and medicalized under the discourse of  public health, leading to its subjugation to biopower’s rhetoric. At the […]

Supervised consumption services have been scaled up within Canada and internationally as an ethical imperative in the context of a public health emergency. A large body of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrates that these services prevent poisoning deaths, reduce infectious disease transmission risk behaviour, and facilitate clients’ connections to other health and social services. In 2019, the […]

Aim No previous studies, to our knowledge, have investigated the association between psychiatrist density and suicide, accounting for individual- and area-level characteristics. Methods We investigated all suicide cases in 2007-2017 identified from the national cause-of-death data files, with each suicide case matched to 10 controls by age and sex and each suicide case/control assigned to […]

Our social relationships are widely considered crucial to emotional well-being; however, the possibility that social connection may be a biological need, vital to physical well-being and even survival, is commonly unrecognized. Still, extreme examples clearly illustrate infants in custodial care who lack human contact fail to thrive and often die (UNICEF, 1997), and social isolation […]

The incidence of gun violence in Canada has been increasing with an 81% rise in violent offenses involving guns since 2009. One in three homicides now firearm related. 1The issue extends beyond what is publicized in the news with the RCMP reporting 80% of firearm deaths in Canada being attributed to suicide. 2 Consider the […]

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is a well-established cause of lung cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease and developmental issues in children, with an overwhelming evidence base spanning over four decades. In this narrative review, we describe studies which have also linked self-reported or cotinine-assessed SHS exposure in the home, workplace and other settings to mental health disorders […]

Gun violence is an ongoing public health crisis in the United States that impacts the health and wellbeing of all of us. In 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. experienced an unprecedented spike in gun homicides. Many believed that this spike would be short-lived; levels of gun violence would subside […]

Background: As the use of social media becomes more widespread, its impact on health cannot be ignored. However, limited research has been conducted on the relationship between social media and suicide. Little is known about individuals’ vulnerable to suicide, especially when social media suicide information is extremely prevalent. Objective: This study aims to identify the […]

Over 700,000 people die by suicide every year (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Despite increasing investment in suicide prevention activities from many governments worldwide, rates have continued to rise over the past 30 years (Yip et al., 2022). This is because suicide is complex and addressing this complexity is our Achilles heel. There are several […]

Background: Suicide is estimated to account for 1.4% of deaths worldwide, making it among the leading causes of premature death. Public health approaches to reduce suicide have the potential to reach individuals across the spectrum of suicide risk. Aims: To review the effectiveness of newer community-based or population-level suicide prevention strategies. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of literature published […]

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 […]

Purpose of review: Suicide is a complex phenomenon wherein multiple parameters intersect: psychological, medical, moral, religious, social, economic and political. Over the decades, however, it has been increasingly and almost exclusively come to be viewed through a biomedical prism. Colonized thus by health and more specifically mental health professionals, alternative and complimentary approaches have been excluded […]

The Health, United States program provides a wide array of trends in health statistics to policymakers, public health professionals, and the public. As part of the program’s legislative mandate, Health, United States is  charged with presenting a comprehensive set of health topics, and examining trends in health status and determinants, healthcare utilization, healthcare resources, and […]