Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T11:38:44.828Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Prevention of mental ill-health and suicide: Public health perspectives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

C.W. Hoven ,
D.J. Mandell  and
J.M. Bertolote
C.W. Hoven*
Affiliation:
Child Psychiatric Epidemiology Group, Columbia University, NYS Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit, 43, New York10032, USA
D.J. Mandell
Affiliation:
Social Ecologist, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Columbia University-NYS Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit, 43, New York10032, USA
J.M. Bertolote
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Psychology and Psychiatry, Botucatu Medical School, UNESP, R. Vitoria Regia, 180, CEP 18697-142, Botucatu, SP, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +12 543 5689; fax: +212 781 6050. E-mail address: ch42@columbia.edu (C.W. Hoven).
Get access

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates for the year 2020, approximately 1.5 million people will commit suicide, and at least 10 times that many will make an attempt. This paper offers a brief overview of the current state of the epidemiology of suicide, a burgeoning public health problem. The information provided is based in large measure on reports of suicide mortality from 130/193 countries. In order to contextualize these data, this paper explores the contribution of both individual and sociocultural factors that influence suicidal behavior, from which much has been learned. Outlining the history of attempts by international and national organizations like WHO, United Nations, member states in the European community and other countries to regularize identification and suicide reporting procedures, this paper also demonstrates that serious knowledge gaps remain. Minimal requirements for successful evidence-based interventions are presented.

Keywords

SuicideSuicide preventionPublic healthSocial milieuEtiology of suicide
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 25 , Issue 5: The role of genetics in promoting suicide prevention and the mental health of the population - Nobel Conference: The role of genetics in promoting suicide prevention and the mental health of the population , June 2010 , pp. 252 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier Masson SAS 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1

Tel.: +5514 3811 6260: Fax: +5514 3815 5965.

References

Bertolote, JMSuicide prevention: at what level does it work?. World Psych 3(3)2004 Oct 147–151.Google Scholar
Bertolote, JM, Fleischmann, ASuicide and psychiatric diagnosis: a worldwide perspective. World Psych 1(3)2002 Oct 181–185.Google Scholar
Bertolote, JM, Fleischmann, AA global perspective on the magnitude of suicide mortality. Wasserman, D, Wasserman, C, The Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention: A Global Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2009. 91–98.Google Scholar
DeLeo, D, Bille-Brahe, U, Kerkhof, A, Schmidtke, ASuicidal Behavior: Theories and Research Findings. Gottingen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2004.Google Scholar
DeLeo, D, Evans, RInternational Suicide Rates and Prevention. Guttingen: Hogrefe & Huber; 2004.Google Scholar
Durkheim, ESuicide: A Study in Sociology. Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press; 1951.Google Scholar
Esquirol, JEDes Maladies Mentales. Paris: J B Bailliere; 1838.Google Scholar
Feyerabend, PK, Maxwell, GMind, Matter, and Method: Essays in Philosophy and Science in Honor of Herbert Feigl. University of Minnesota Press; 1966.Google Scholar
Fleischmann, A, Bertolote, JM, Wasserman, D, De Leo, D, Bolhari, J, Botega, NJet al.Effectiveness of brief intervention and contact for suicide attempters: a randomized controlled trial in five countries. Bull World Health Organ 86(9)2008 703–709.10.2471/BLT.07.046995CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heckman, JJSkill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science 312(5782)2006 1900–1902.10.1126/science.1128898CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollingshead, AB, Redlich, FCSocial Class and Mental Illness. New York: John Wiley; 1958.10.1037/10645-000CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoven, CW, Tyano, S, Mandell, DJSuicide awareness and mental health among youth in the community. Exposing dark secrets: what must be toldWasserman, D, Wasserman, C, Oxford Textbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention: A Global Perspective New York: Oxford University Press; 2009. 501–507.Google Scholar
Hoven, CW, Wasserman, D, Wasserman, C, Mandell, DJAwareness in nine countries: A public health approach to suicide prevention. Leg Med 2009;11:S13–S17.10.1016/j.legalmed.2009.01.106CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Makinen, IHSocial theories of suicideWasserman, D, Wasserman, D, Oxford Texbook of Suicidology and Suicide Prevention: A Global Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009. 139–148.Google Scholar
Mandell, DJSymposium report: General comments and discussion: Social issues of suicide. Leg Med 2009;11:S581–S583.10.1016/j.legalmed.2009.01.115CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Minois, GHistoire du suicide : la société occidentale face a la mort volontaire. Paris: Fayard; 1995.Google Scholar
Motohashi, Y, Kaneko, Y, Sasaki, H, Yamaji, MA decrease in suicide rates in Japanese rural towns after community-based intervention by the health promotion approach. Suicide Life Threat Behav 37(5)2007 593–599.10.1521/suli.2007.37.5.593CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nock, MK, Hwang, I, Sampson, N, Kessler, RC, Angermeyer, M, Beautrais, Aet al.Cross-national analysis of the associations among mental disorders and suicidal behavior: findings from the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. PLoS Med 2009: 6(8); e1000123.10.1371/journal.pmed.1000123CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sainsbury, , Barraclough, BDifferences between suicide rates. Nature 220(5173)1968 1252.10.1038/2201252a0CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
United Nations. Prevention of Suicide: Guidelines for the Formulation and Implementation of National Strategies. New York: United Nations; 1996.Google Scholar
Varnik, A, Wasserman, DSuicides in the former Soviet republics. Acta Psychiatra Scandinavica 86(1)1992 76–78.10.1111/j.1600-0447.1992.tb03230.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wasserman, DSuicide - An Unnecessary Death. London: Taylor & Francis; 2001.10.1201/b14713CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wasserman, D, Cheng, Q, Jiang, GXGlobal suicide rates among young people aged 15–19. World Psych 4(2)2005 114–120.Google ScholarPubMed
WHO. Primary Prevention of Mental, Neurological and Psychosocial Disorders. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1998.Google Scholar
WHO. Multisite Intervention Study on Suicidal Behaviours - SUPRE-MISS. Geneva: 2002.Google Scholar
WHO. List of countries by suicide rate. WHO Website 2009 [cited 2009 Aug 23]; Available from: URL: http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/country_reports/en/index.html.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.