Abstract
Abstract. Until now, suicide prevention efforts have been limited in developing countries, although there are pockets of excellent achievement. Various universal, selective, and indicated interventions have been implemented, many of which target a different pattern of risk factors to those in developed countries. In the absence of sufficient mental health services, developing countries rely heavily on nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to provide crisis interventions for suicidal individuals, as well as proactive interventions aimed at raising community awareness and building resilience. Often these NGOs work within a social and public health framework, collaborating with others to provide nested suicide prevention programs that are responsive to local community needs. There is a clear need to develop appropriate, relevant and effective national suicide prevention plans in developing countries, since, to date, only Sri Lanka has done so. These plans should focus on a range of priority areas, specify the actions necessary to achieve positive change in these priority areas, consider the range of collaborators required to implement these actions, and structure their efforts at national, regional, and local levels. The plans should also promote the collection of accurate data on completed and attempted suicide, and should foster evaluation efforts.
References
(2003). Suicide in Sri Lanka. Paper presented at the Suicide Prevention: Meeting the Challenge Together, Chennai, India
(2002). Pesticide poisoning in the developing world: A minimum pesticides list. The Lancet, 360, 1163–1167
(2003). Suicide by intentional ingestion of pesticides: A continuing tragedy in developing countries. International Journal of Epidemiology, 32, 902–909
(2001). Crisis intervention in rural Sri Lanka. Paper presented at the XXI Congress of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, Chennai, India
(1994). Reducing risks for mental disorders: Frontiers for preventive intervention research. Washington, DC: National Academy Press
(2000). Accidental deaths and suicide in India. New Delhi: Government of India
(1995). Suicide prevention programs: Issues of design, implementation, feasibility, and developmental appropriateness. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 92–104
(1995). The prevention of suicidal behaviors: An overview. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 25, 10–21
(2000). Suicide prevention strategies: An international perspective. International Review of Psychiatry, 12, 7–14
(1997). How are nations trying to prevent suicide? An analysis of national suicide prevention strategies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 95, 457–463
(1996). Prevention of suicide: Guidelines for the formulation and implementation of national strategies. New York: United Nations
(2002). Suicide prevention: Volunteer perspective. Paper presented at the 9th European Symposium on Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour, Warwick, UK
(submitted). Suicide in developing countries (2): Risk factors. Crisis,
(submitted). Suicide in developing countries (1): Frequency, distribution, and association with socioeconomic indicators. Crisis,
(2003). WHO atlas. Geneva: World Health Organization