Arensman / De Leo / Pirkis Suicide and Suicide Prevention From a Global Perspective

2020
ISBN: 978-1-61676-573-6
Verlag: Hogrefe Publishing
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 130 Seiten

Suicide is one of the most personal yet one of the most complex acts people can engage in. It continues to be a major global public health problem with an estimated 800,000 deaths annually. Suicide prevention is an important target in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, which aim to reduce premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases by one-third. Suicide is a global problem, but what differences are there in the challenges faced and the solutions found regionally?
Written by leading experts, the nine chapters of this volume provide a clear outline of the major milestones and achievements so far in six different geographical regions using the data collated by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the WHO Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, as well as information on the recent progress in the development and implementation of national suicide prevention programs in different countries. In two concluding chapters, the evidence base and best practice of suicide prevention programs are reviewed, as well as the future directions for suicide prevention at the global level.
This book is essential reading for all those involved in suicide research and prevention as well as public health policy and epidemiology who want to keep up-to-date with the latest global developments.

Zielgruppe

Mental health professionals, epidemiologists, social policy makers,
researchers, and students.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Arensman, Ella

De Leo, Diego

Pirkis, Jane

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychotherapie / Klinische Psychologie Beratungspsychologie
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizinische Fachgebiete Psychiatrie, Sozialpsychiatrie, Suchttherapie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychotherapie / Klinische Psychologie Psychopathologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgments, Contents and Foreword;6
2;Suicide and Suicide Prevention From a Global Perspective;12
3;Suicide Prevention in the European Region;17
4;Suicide Prevention in the Southeast Asia Region;30
5;Suicide Prevention in the Americas;39
6;Suicide Prevention in the African Region;62
7;Suicide Prevention in the Eastern Mediterranean Region;81
8;Suicide Prevention in the Western Pacific Region;89
9;Suicide Prevention Programs: Evidence Base and Best Practice;108
10;Future Directions;134

Leseproben

Suicide Prevention in the African Region

Joseph Osafo1,2, Kwaku Oppong Asante1,2, and Charity Sylvia Akotia1,2
1 Department of Psychology, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
2 Centre for Suicide and Violence Research (CSVR), Accra, Ghana

Abstract. This paper addresses national responses to suicide prevention in the African region. Eighteen countries responded, of which none had a national suicide prevention strategy in place and only three countries, namely Algeria, Congo, and Madagascar, were in the process of developing any kind of strategy, at the time of this survey. Official national statistics on suicide were available in four of the 18 AFRO countries, with two countries publishing figures on suicide attempts nationally. Training programs on suicide assessment and interventions for general practitioners or mental health professionals were very limited, available in just four countries. One country had a national center specifically dedicated to suicide research or prevention and four countries have at least one NGO dedicated to suicide prevention. Postvention bereavement support for families affected by suicide was available in three AFRO countries. In more than half of the countries, suicide is not an option to certify cause of death. Statistics on suicide and suicide prevention are poorly monitored in all the 18 AFRO countries. The present state of suicide prevention in the region will require cross-country efforts that will generate a critical mass to move suicide advocacy in establishing national prevention strategies in the region. Keywords: suicide, prevention programs, African region, national strategies

Suicide as Public Mental Health Issue and National Prevention Programs

This chapter is concerned with suicide prevention in the African Region. Several governments in countries such as Ghana, Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, and Senegal do not view suicide as a serious public health problem and this appears to feed into the absence of any national suicide prevention programs in these countries. However, in six other countries – Algeria, Cape Verde, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa – suicide is viewed as a serious public health problem but there are no national preventive programs. For example, in Mozambique, reports showed that from June 2011 to August 2014, 18.0 % of emergency psychiatric consultations at the Central Hospital in Sofala were related to suicide attempts. In the 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) report Preventing Suicide: A Global Imperative, Mozambique is reported as having the seventh highest suicide rate in the world and arguably the highest in Africa (WHO, 2014a). Rates are also high in most eastern African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Thus, Africa’s contribution to the global suicide rate – 8 % or third after low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the Southeast Asian and Western Pacific regions (WHO, 2014a) – is substantial enough to warrant governmental attention. The poor expenditure patterns of most countries in Africa on mental health might account for such low commitment to suicide prevention (Jacob et al., 2007). For instance, in both Ghana and Senegal, although there are official policies on mental health, implementation gaps persist (Doku, Wusu-Takyi, & Awakame, 2012; Monteiro, Ndiaye, Blanas, & Ba, 2014). The 2014 WHO (2014a) report on suicide demonstrates the serious challenge presented by suicidal behavior in Africa, warranting an urgent need to respond to this through the design and implementation of national suicide prevention...