Suicide in Western Samoa: an Example of a Suicide Prevention Program… (IN: Preventive Strategies on Suicide, ed. by R F W Diekstra, W Gulbinat et al.)

This chapter gives a description of a Suicide Prevention Program based in Western Samoa in which special attention is paid to the method chosen by the victim. Data is presented to suggest that reducing the impact of a predominant means can reduce the total rate without a corresponding increase in other methods. Unconventional findings are discussed, & comparisons are shown with data from other countries. Some socio-economic factors are considered in attempting to explain the observations described. (10 refs)