Resource Tag: PUBLIC HEALTH

Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants have the potential to transform public health by offering accurate and actionable information to the general public. Unlike web-based knowledge resources (eg, Google Search) that return numerous results and require the searcher to synthesize information, AI assistants are designed to receive complex questions and provide specific answers. However, AI assistants often […]

Background: The prevalence of depression has increased among adolescents in western countries. Prevention is needed to reduce the number of adolescents who experience depression and to avoid negative consequences, including suicide. Several preventive interventions are found to be promising, especially multi-modal approaches, for example combining screening and preventive intervention. However, an important bottleneck arises during the […]

Many countries have national suicide prevention strategies, all of which aim to reduce suicide and many of which also address self-harm more generally (World Health Organization, 2018). In this editorial, we argue that national  strategies could be strengthened through an increased focus on the social determinants associated with suicide and self-harm. We present a public […]

The last several decades have witnessed growing and converging evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCT’s) that an identifiable set of simple clinical management strategies are effective for those at risk for suicidal thinking and/or suicide attempts. The current article offers a brief review of clinical strategies supported by RCT’s targeting suicidality as “commonalities of treatments […]

Background: Suicide is a major public health problem, which affects people of all ages and ethnicities. Despite being preventable, the rates of suicide have steadily climbed (more than a third) over the past 2 decades. Objective: Nurse practitioners (NPs) must be responsible for recognizing suicide risk and providing appropriate treatment referrals in addition to having […]

In 2019, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) hosted the inaugural Medical Summit on Firearm Injury Prevention. The Summit convened representatives from 44 major medical, public health, and injury prevention professional organizations with a goal to develop consensus on collaborative opportunities to address the growing problem of firearm-related injury and death in the US.1 The […]

Suicide prevention is a public health priority. The purpose of this study was to elicit and document the perspectives of youth (ages 15–24) on the development of a peer support model for mental health promotion and suicide prevention for youth in small communities in western Canada. A qualitative descriptive approach informed by a socioecological framework […]

Introduction: Many Canadians report decreased mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns have been raised about possible increases in suicide. This study investigates the pandemic’s potential impact on adults’ suicide ideation. Methods: We compared self-reported suicide ideation in 2020 versus 2019 by analyzing data from the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (11 September to 4 […]

Background: Few reports from developing countries have described long-term trends in suicide. Aims: To investigate the age-, sex-, and method-specific trends in suicide over the period 1904–2017 in São Paulo. Method: Mortality data were obtained from SEADE, DATASUS, and PRO-AIM. Results: Suicide peaked in the mid-1910s and mid-1950s, being higher among men. There was an upward trend from the 1920s for men […]

Abstract We discuss insights on a West Central Florida community-based Veterans suicide prevention effort- a series of Veterans coffee socials. Noted as a public health crisis which has been well documented, the article provides an overview of the importance of public health approaches and academic public health engagement at a local level to addressing suicide […]

Aims: People who make medically serious suicide attempts (MSSAs) share a number of features with those who die by suicide, and are at a high risk of suicide themselves. Studies to date have mostly focused on clinical samples of MSSAs. An epidemiological examination at a national level can help to identify risk profiles and pathways […]

The U.S. National Strategy for Suicide Prevention calls for states to identify supportive structures that encourage efficient, effective, and sustainable suicide prevention programming at the state, territorial, tribal, and local levels (HHS & Action Alliance, 2012). To meet this objective, the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) completed a literature review and environmental scan, convened an advisory panel […]

Background Suicide is a serious and growing public health concern, both for the United States (U.S.) and for the Department of Defense (DoD). Methods Using the social–ecological framework, we provide examples of how three newly developed, DoD-funded pilots/programs have incorporated a public health approach to help prevent military suicide. Key Results The first two programs […]

Objective Many public health approaches to suicide prevention emphasize connecting at-risk individuals to professional treatment. However, it is unclear to what degree the outpatient mental health workforce has the requisite knowledge and skills to provide the evidence-based care needed to help those at risk. In this project, prior to the implementation of a statewide suicide […]

Objective To test the effectiveness of a male-targeted upstream public health intervention in increasing help-seeking intentions for mental disorders and suicide in an adolescent population. Method A two-arm controlled trial was conducted with 10 schools in the Australian Capital Territory. A total of 594 male adolescents aged between 16 and 18 years participated in the study. […]

Objective This study examined the relationship between social support and suicidality among youth from a public health perspective by using (1) a socioecological framework and (2) an intersectional approach to social identity. Methods Secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data (N = 5058) involved means comparisons and a series of standard and hierarchical regression analyses. Results Youth with […]

Introduction: Media guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide are a recognized universal suicide prevention intervention. While implemented in nu-merous countries, including Australia, little is known about whether they are cost- effective. We aimed to determine the cost- effectiveness of Mindframe, the national initiative implementing media guidelines in Australia. Method: We conducted a modelled economic […]

Objective: Suicide is the second leading cause of death in youth and is of public health importance. Characteristics and precipitating circumstances may differ by adolescent age groups. Understanding these differences may inform prevention efforts that are population-specific. Therefore, we sought to compare suicides between younger and older adolescents in Virginia from 2008 to 2017. Methods: We used […]

This text focuses on the situation of suicide in Brazil, defines and quantifies information, and presents a description of the main risk factors, as well as a reflection on the phenomenon and the possibilities for prevention. Fatal suicide is a serious public health problem. In 2012, 172 member states of the World Health Organization registered […]

Youth involved in the juvenile justice system are at elevated risk for suicide and co-occurring mental health symptoms. This study aims to examine the suicide risk and treatment needs of court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) youth, and to understand the acceptability and effectiveness of implementing a mental health screening procedure at time of first court contact. By […]

Objective The primary objectives of this study were to (1) examine how veterans at risk for suicide understand and interpret suicide prevention messages, and (2) identify message features that support (or hinder) help seeking behaviors. Method Individual virtual interviews (N = 40) were conducted from August 2018 to April 2019 with a nationwide sample of veterans who […]

Background: Few studies have examined the effect of pandemics on suicide-related outcomes. Aims: We examined whether suicidal ideation levels among the general population changed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic by tracking individuals between January and April 2020. Method: We used a prospective observational longitudinal design (n = 6,683) and stratified sampling to conduct online surveys of the general adult population in […]

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threatens people’s physical and mental health, globally, and it may even trigger suicide ideation and suicidal behavior. Aims: We aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19 on suicide risk by sampling Chinese Weibo users and analyzing their social media messages. Method: We predicted the probability of suicide (including hopelessness, suicidal ideation, negative self-evaluation, and hostility) […]