A Suicide Prevention Program in a Region With a Very High Suicide Rate

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a depression-management education program for general practitioners in a region of Hungary with a very high suicide rate. 28 general practitioners participated in the study. A 5-year depression-management educational program for general practitioners & their nurses was implemented together with the establishment of a depression treatment clinic & psychiatric telephone consultation service. The annual suicide rate in the intervention region drecreased from the 5-year pre-intervention average of 59.7/100,000 to 49.9/100,000. The importance of alcoholism in local suicides was unanticipated & not addressed. Optimal suicide prevention plans must consider major local risk factors. (27 refs.)