Citation

Swed S, Rais MA, Aljabali A, Siddiq A, Elsayed M, Shoib S. Lancet Psychiatry 2022; 9(10): e47.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(22)00299-1

PMID

36116451

Abstract

Deaths by suicide are frequently under-reported in Syria, an Eastern Mediterranean country, the population of which is about 90% Muslim. According to the WHO's 2019 report, in Syria males are more likely to die by suicide than females of all ages, and the rate of suicide seems to increase with age. A report by Save the Children shows that people in northwest Syria are facing increasingly difficult circumstances due to poverty, high levels of unemployment and low levels of education, domestic abuse, child marriage, strained relationships, and bullying in a region still dealing with the effects of an 11-year civil war. The civil war has substantially affected Syrian society, causing physical harm from shrapnel and bullets and mental ill health aggravated by a scarcity of mental-health and psychosocial support services, the COVID-19 pandemic, and economic and health system deterioration.Syria urgently needs a suicide prevention plan (panel). The plan should use interdisciplinary techniques encompassing several levels of intervention and activities. Effective strategies include screening, gatekeeper training, primary care physician education, means restriction, proper media coverage, and public awareness campaigns. The Syrian Ministry of Health should support adequate funding and constant surveillance and ensure that people who are at risk of suicide receive comprehensive care at all levels, including in hospitals and non-medical institutions. Depression screening programmes need to be implemented in Syria to find people who are at high risk of suicidal thoughts so that preventive measures can be provided based on the risk level. Public education campaigns should promote cooperation from all community members to increase awareness of suicide and motivate everyone in the neighbourhood to participate in the care of individuals at high risk of suicide. Syrian health-care authorities and volunteer organisations should implement a programme that analyses reasons leading to suicide, such as an absence of family or job and post-crisis stress. An action plan should be implemented to care for a person with suicidal thoughts. Syrians who feel unworthy should be encouraged to take part in social activities, to talk as a means of reducing stress, and to look for early assistance from mental-health specialists...

Language: en