The Prevention of Suicide: Public Health Approaches (IN: Current Concepts of Suicide, edited by D Lester)

There have been 2 major strategies adopted to prevent suicide: suicide prevention centres, & psychiatric & counselling treatments for depressed or suicidal patients. These approaches are examined in detail in this chapter. Lester also reviews a number of regional & time series studies on the effects on the suicide rate of reducing the availability of certain means, i.e. firearms, toxic car exhaust, & toxic domestic gas. (45 refs.)