suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally ending your life.

There are three levels of intervention in suicide; 1) universal 2) selective and 3) indicated.

Universal interventions target everyone in a defined population. They aim to increase awareness about suicide, remove barriers to care, promote help-seeking and encourage protective factors. Some examples of universal interventions include school-based interventions and national initiatives such as restricted access to lethal means. Evidence suggests that universal interventions are effective at increasing awareness and helping skills, though there is little evidence to suggest they’re effective at reducing suicide-related thoughts or behaviours.

Selective interventions address specific groups at increased risk for suicidal behaviours, for instance those with mental health problems or harmful use of substances. To date, there have been few studies into selective interventions and results are mixed.

Indicated interventions target high-risk individuals already displaying signs of suicidal behaviour. Examples include brief contact interventions (e.g. crisis cards) and talking therapies. Evidence suggests that brief contact interventions are effective for young people in clinical settings. A network meta-analysis conducted in 2021 found that the most effective talking therapies for suicide and self-harm in young people are dialectical behavioural therapies and mentalisation-based therapies.

 

Our suicide Blogs

New meta-analysis confirms high suicide rates amongst doctors #WMHD2024

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Today is World Mental Health Day and the theme this year is ‘Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace’. Clare Gerada reviews a study showing that doctor suicide rates, particularly for females, exceed those of the general population.

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Ethnic disparities in suicide mortality: what’s going on?

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Pauline Rivart summarises a national cohort study of ethnicity and suicide in England and Wales, which presents a “paradoxical finding of a lower rate of suicide in almost all minority ethnic groups compared with the White British majority”.

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Supporting NHS colleagues following a coworker’s suicide: a postvention theory

Implementing structured protocols, enhancing training, strengthening support, and promoting open communication are all steps that can be implemented within workplaces to better support staff wellbeing after a colleague’s suicide.

In her debut blog, Brittany Oldale collaborates with Sarah Watts to summarise a grounded theory study that sought to create a postvention theory for how to support colleagues’ following a colleague’s suicide within the NHS.

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The great unknown? Assessing suicide risk in trials of psychological interventions for depression

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Derek de Beurs explores a meta-analysis which finds that randomised controlled trials of psychological interventions for depression rarely report assessments of suicide.

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Preconception depression in first-time Fathers is a risk factor for depression and suicidality after birth

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Francesca Kingston summarises an Australian longitudinal study of perinatal mental health and suicidality in first-time Fathers, which finds that postnatal depression and and suicidal thinking are common in new Dads.

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Antipsychotics and risk of violence and suicide in people diagnosed with personality disorders

Newer antipsychotics are not necessarily superior to older drugs.

A group of MSc students from UCL summarise a study examining the links between antipsychotics, risk of violent crimes and suicidal behaviour in people diagnosed with a ‘personality disorder’.

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Cause of death in people with bipolar disorder: how can we prevent premature mortality and reduce the mortality gap?

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A group of UCL MSc students summarise a cohort study in BMJ Mental Health, which suggests that we have previously underestimated the contribution of external causes of death such as accidents or suicides.

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Rising temperatures and poor mental health: new review explores suicidal behaviour and mental health hospital attendance or admission

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Jingni Ma considers a systematic review exploring the impact of rising temperatures and poor mental health, which suggests links to suicide, mental health hospital attendance and hospitalisation, and worse psychological outcomes.

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Doctors working in paediatrics and anaesthetics at higher risk of suicidality, according to Australian survey

While the current study identified higher risks within specific medical specialties, we do not know if there are any common underlying factors linked to job demands and interpersonal dynamics, which could have important implications for developing solutions.

Olga Lainidi summarises a secondary cross-sectional analysis of survey data from Australian consultant doctors that explored associations between different medical specialities and the occurrence of common mental disorders and suicidal ideation.

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Trigger warnings: to use, or not to use? That is the question

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A group of leading researches at Orygen Australia review a recent meta-analysis on the efficacy of trigger and content warnings on media outlets that indicates warnings may not be as helpful as we thought.

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