Resource Tag: PUBLIC HEALTH

Background Public stigma is a significant deterrent to mental health service use for U.S. veterans. Media campaigns are often used to dispel stigmatizing beliefs and actions. Segmentation is an evidence-based practice for their effective use; however, little data has been published on veteran segments to target with anti-stigma messages. Aims This article aims to identify […]

Introduction Data from the first round of the nationally representative Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) revealed that the prevalence of recent suicidal ideation in the fall of 2020 in Canada did not differ significantly from that in the pre-pandemic period in 2019. The objective of the present study was to reassess the prevalence […]

Background: In Hong Kong, there have been significant changes in suicide rates during the period 1996–2015. Aim: We aimed to assess the impact of change in suicide rates on life expectancy in Hong Kong. Method: A decomposition method was used to quantify the impact of suicide on life expectancy in Hong Kong. Results: During 1996–2003, the increase in total suicide rate made […]

Background: Unemployment is a well-documented risk factor for suicide. Findings from a number of studies suggest that government policy plays a crucial role in mediating the unemployment–suicide relationship. Aims: Our review was designed to assess whether government policies aimed at managing unemployment can moderate the impact of unemployment on suicide and self-harm. Method: A systematic search of the Medline, ProQuest, […]

Background: Communication campaigns offer a portable intervention to effectively reach and engage target populations at risk for suicide including US veterans. Few studies have evaluated such efforts, and still fewer have examined factors that contribute to failed suicide prevention messaging. Aims: We aimed to examine characteristics of suicide prevention messages and persuasive processes that may underlie failed communicative […]

Increases in mental health conditions have been documented among the general population and health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, data on public health workers are limited. Among 26,174 surveyed state, tribal, local, and territorial public health workers, 52.8% reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition in the past 2 weeks. Symptoms were […]

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many jurisdictions, including Canada, have made use of public health measures such as COVID-19 quarantine to reduce the transmission of the virus. To examine associations between these periods of quarantine and mental health, including suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm, we examined data from a national survey of 3000 […]

Evidence on the population-level mental health impacts of COVID-19 are beginning to amass; however, to date, there are significant gaps in our understandings of whose mental health is most impacted, how the pandemic is contributing to widening mental health inequities, and the coping strategies being used to sustain mental health. The first wave of a […]

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of federal, public health and social support programs on national suicide rates in Canada. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Canadian National Database (i.e., Statistics Canada) and Statista. Participants: Population-level data, and economic and consumer market data. Main outcome measures: Suicide mortality data, population data and unemployment data were obtained from […]

Summary What is already known about this topic? Increases in mental health conditions have been documented among the general population and health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, data on public health workers are limited. What is added by this report? Among 26,174 surveyed state, tribal, local, and territorial public health workers, 53.0% reported […]

Background The suicide rate in Canada decreased by 24% during the past four decades. However, rates vary between provinces and territories, and not all jurisdictions experienced the same changes. This study examined suicide rates over time in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Methods We used cross-sectional surveillance data from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death […]

Study Objective. Suicide is a serious health problem that is shaped by a variety of social and mental health factors. A growing body of research connects the arts to positive health outcomes; however, no previous systematic reviews have examined the use of the arts in suicide prevention and survivorship. This review examined how the arts […]

Background Suicide is a major public health concern that has wide-reaching implications on individuals, families, and society. Efforts to respond to a public health concern as a portal-of-entry provider can reduce morbidity and mortality of patients. The objective of this commentary is a call to action to initiate dialogue regarding suicide prevention and the role […]

The Public Health Agency of Canada is funding a new Canada Suicide Prevention Service (CSPS), timely both in recognition of the need for a public health approach to suicide prevention, and also in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is causing concern about the potential for increases in suicide. This editorial reviews priorities for […]

Background: Treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in publicly funded mental health services generally use approaches based on medical interventions and generic case management. Specific psychological therapies developed for BPD may be more effective but have rarely been evaluated in routine clinical practice. Aim: To examine the effectiveness of Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) in adults with an […]

Objectives. We evaluated the effectiveness of the US Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) in reducing suicide, and we measured the extent to which air force installations implemented the program. Methods. We determined the AFSPP’s impact on suicide rates in the air force by applying an intervention regression model to data from 1981 through 2008, providing 16 […]

Background: Periodically, a debate around suicide reporting becomes prominent in the media. At one point, the Chief Coroner of New Zealand made a public call to the media to open up discussions around suicide and its reporting. Following this action, a high-profile debate emerged in the media. Aims: Our aim was to identify the key players in this […]

There is global concern that the COVID-19 pandemic may increase suicide rates. High-quality evidence is needed to guide both national and international responses to the pandemic, to mitigate any risk. The overall aim of this systematic review was to aggregate the existing evidence on the potential impact of infectious disease-related public health emergencies (referred to […]

Relatively few countries credibly count their dead. Thus, differential sophistication as well as sociopolitical and economic support of healthcare and systems to investigate deaths inevitably leave a large gulf between richer and poorer countries in accurately registering manner and cause of death. And when suicide is in question, the variable stigma of self-harm combined with […]

Background Suicide risk of psychiatric patients has proven to be strongly increased in the months after discharge from a psychiatric hospital. Despite this high risk, there is a lack of systematic research on the causes of this elevated suicide risk as well as a lack of treatment and intervention for patients at high risk after […]

Suicide represents a major challenge to public mental health. In order to provide empirical evidence for prevention strategies, we hypothesized current levels of low socioeconomic status (SES) and high social isolation (SI) to be linked to increased suicide rates in N = 390 administrative districts since SES and SI are associated with mental illness. Effects […]

Background: A 45-month community-based suicide prevention program was launched in response to the emergence of a suicide cluster in 2010 in Hong Kong. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, document the implementation and outcomes of the project, and identify factors that contribute to the outcomes. Method: The program was delivered following the five key components […]

We applaud Niederkrotenthaler and colleagues1 for adding another layer of evidence that 13 Reasons Why is harming the public by pushing some individuals toward suicide. However, their dismissal of some of the earliest evidence on this subject deserves a revision not because it undermines their central claim but because it makes it even stronger and […]