Weekly News Roundup March 2-8, 2020
Every day we scan news headlines and social media for items of interest to the field of suicide prevention. Here’s what we found last week:
How managers can help employees with mental health issues – CNN
March 6, 2020
Managers have a role to play in preventing suicide and promoting mental health. They are in the position to be proactive and respond to employees who may be struggling before they reach a point of crisis. In a workplace survey, only 20% of employees said they would be comfortable discussing mental health issues at work – managers can create a safe space for discussion when they reach out to employees they see are struggling. A change in work performance, for example, is one warning sign that an employee may be struggling with their mental health. When a manager notices a sign, they can have a conversation with their employee, “The most important thing is to talk about changes you see. But don’t suggest a diagnosis. Instead you can say, ‘You don’t seem like yourself. Are you ok? You’re a valued employee and I care about you. Let me better understand how I can be helpful because I really want to help you succeed,'” said Darcy Gruttadaro, director of the Center for Workplace Mental Health at the American Psychiatric Association Foundation.
Learn more about the workplace and suicide prevention in our toolkit.
Female physicians are more likely to die by suicide – Axios
March 5, 2020
A newly released meta-analysis has found that both male and female physicians have a higher rate of suicide than those in the general population, and that female physicians die by suicide 1.46 times more often than females in the general population, whereas male physicians die by suicide 0.67 times more often, however, male suicide rates in the general population are also higher than female suicide rates.
Suicide remains growing challenge for younger veterans, survey shows – Military Times
March 5, 2020
In the recent annual membership survey of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, two-thirds of the over 1,700 American veteran respondents said that they knew at least one veteran who has attempted suicide, and 62% knew a veteran who died by suicide. 44% said they have had thoughts of suicide since joining the military, which has increased from less than 30% since the 2014 survey. Many survey respondents knew about and used services offered by Veterans Affairs – 96% knew about the crisis line and 26% had called the line seeking help. Chronic pain from injuries sustained in the military, as well as unemployment, were some issues faced by veterans who participated in the survey.
Reddit to launch new suicide prevention tools – Verge
March 4, 2020
Social network Reddit will be working with the Crisis Text Line to offer users new suicide prevention tools, including the ability for users to report others that may be thinking about suicide. After a user is reported, a response from Reddit will be prompted providing the flagged user with links to resources and a suggestion to text Crisis Text Line.
Girls stay longer in school but obesity, suicide and sexual violence remain risks – Guardian
March 4, 2020
A report published by UNICEF has tracked the progress of gender equality and issues faced by women over the past 25 years, identifying suicide as an issue for adolescent girls – it’s the second leading cause of death globally for women ages 15 to 19. The first leading cause of death was childbirth and pregnancy.
Inquest hears early life trauma, abuse, haunted 13-year-old boy before his suicide – CTV
March 3, 2020
*Method warning* An inquest is being held into the suicide death of Kaleab Schmidt, 13, an Ethiopian immigrant who died by suicide. Schmidt had been living with a foster family in Canada, and expected a better life than he had in Ethiopia, but said, “for the past five years I’ve been unhappy,” in his suicide note. Schmidt’s adoptive father Dean says that he was a “survivor of Africa,” who faced trauma and abuse. When he came to Canada, he was bullied by his peers, and experienced racism and physical violence. The inquest continues this week.