Citation

Knettel BA, Obale A, Iqbal H, Fotabong MC, Philippe NN, Graton M, Ledbetter L. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 2024; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/sltb.13041

PMID

38214345

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: One-third of all global suicide deaths occur among adolescents and young adults, making suicide the second leading cause of death among young people. Nearly 80% of suicide deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and many African nations have higher rates of suicide than global averages. However, interventions are scarce. We conducted a scoping review of counseling interventions for suicide prevention among youth in Africa.

METHOD: We performed structured searches of the Medline, Embase, PyscINFO, African Index Medicus, Global Heath Database, and Proquest Dissertations and Theses Global databases. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they described a counseling intervention conducted in Africa, focused on participants under age 22, and included a suicide-related outcome.

RESULTS: After removal of duplicates, 1808 titles and abstracts were screened and 10 studies were identified for full-text review. Of these, six included adult participants and did not disaggregate results for youth, two did not describe an intervention, and two did not include a relevant outcome. Thus, no studies were eligible for inclusion.

CONCLUSIONS: This empty review highlights the striking absence of published research on a life-threatening public health challenge, representing a distinct call to action for improved efforts in adolescent suicide prevention in Africa.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescents; suicide prevention; Africa; counseling; psychotherapy; scoping review; systematic review