Citation

Szanto K. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 125.

Affiliation

University of Pittsburgh, O`Hara Street 3811, 15217 Pittsburgh, PA. (szantok@upmc.edu)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964092

Abstract

The presentation will discuss the results of a 5-year suicide prevention program for primary care physicians in the Kiskunhalas region of Hungary, funded by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. This region is characterized by a very high suicide rate, and one of the highest rates of suicide in the elderly in the worldwide. The overall aim of this study was to investigate the effects on suicide mortality of a depression recognition and treatment program for Hungarian general practitioners (GP-s) and for their nurses. The components of the program were: 1) improving the identification of at-risk individuals by screening for depression and suicidal ideation with simple standardized instruments, (2) improving access to depression treatment, and (3) enhancing the quality of treatment provided by the GP-s and by the local psychiatrists. The intervention and the control regions were chosen because they had suicide rates that were almost twice the national average (50-69 per 100,000). The suicide rates significantly decreased during the 2000-2005 period compared to the previous 5 years in both regions, driven by decreases in the male suicide rate, which was especially prominent in the rural regions. Using a generalized log linear model, the only significant region by time interaction was in females in the rural area, as the Kiskunhalas suicide rate significantly decreased, while in the control region the rural female suicide rate increased. The second part of the presentation will summarize the treatment challenges of suicidal depressed individuals, based on data from our treatment studies in late-life depression at the University of Pittsburgh.

Language: en