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Abstract
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In the first two parts of this series of articles, I have suggested some kinds of measures that those involved in administrating suicide prevention centers can use to check upon the adequacy of their services. In this part four methods of evaluating suicide prevention centers that have been the focus for published studies will be reviewed.
These studies focus upon more general criteria for evaluating suicide prevention center, that is, rather than asking, for example, how long it takes for a caller to get through to a counselor from the time they dial the number of the center to the time when a counselor answers, they ask questions such as whether suicide prevention centers have any impact upon the suicide rate of the community that they serve. To use Suchman's terminology (Suchman, 1967) these studies focus upon idealized objectives rather than lower level administrative objectives.
Do Suicide Prevention Centers Prevent Suicide?
Clearly, one of the idealized objectives of suicide prevention centers is to prevent suicide. Thus, it has been important to demonstrate this. The frequent failure to find a reduction in the suicide rate of a community served by a center has led suicidologists to predict an initial rise in the suicide rate of a community when the suicide prevention center opens due to more accurate reporting of suicide statistics, which is believed to arise through the lessening of the societal taboo about suicide and through cooperation of suicide prevention centers with coroners in certifying deaths accurately...
Language: en |