Citation

Althaus D, Hegerl U. World J. Biol. Psychiatry 2003; 4(4): 156-165.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, World Federation of the Societies of Biological Psychiatry, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15622970310029913

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

One million people commit suicide world-wide every year. The need for suicide prevention is obvious, and very different approaches have been investigated to reduce the number of suicides. Some interventions aim at identified high-risk groups (e.g. support for people after suicide attempt), some at the population as a whole (e.g. restricting the access to means for suicide). There is, however, but little evidence for the efficacy of suicide prevention activities. This can mostly be attributed to methodological problems such as the lack of randomised controlled studies and the fact that the sample size is too small to show an effect. Despite these problems, some interventions showed promising results (e.g. longterm lithium treatment). A main problem, however, is that many people at risk do not get in contact with health care institutions. Moreover, no single approach by itself seems to contribute to a substantial decline in the suicide rate. The authors therefore argue that a combination of different strategies in a multi-level approach might prove to be the most effective. © 2003 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

suicide; prevention; evaluation