Abstract
Abstract. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) consists of 22 countries including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen. According to Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data, death from self-harm has increased by 100% between 1990 and 2015 in this region. Although this increase is substantial, it appears trivial in comparison to the 1027% increase in deaths due to war and legal interventions. This might partly explain why suicide prevention does not have a high priority in these countries and why there are currently no suicide prevention strategies in place. Despite the above, some important activities in the area of suicide prevention have been carried out in the region. And while peace and stability may take time to come to the region, it should not prevent suicide prevention programs from being developed and implemented.
References
(2018). The Iraqi national study of suicide: Report on suicide data in Iraq in 2015 and 2016. Journal of Affective Disorders, 229, 56–62. 10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.037
(2007). Suicide in Bahrain in the last decade. Crisis, 28(1), 11–15. 10.1027/0227-5910.28.1.11
(2015). Patterns of suicide in Kuwait: A retrospective descriptive study from 2003 – 2009. BMC Public Health, 15, 527. 10.1186/s12889-015-1862-7
(2017). Evaluation of national suicide prevention and suicide registration programs in Iran. News Bulletin of International Association for Suicide Prevention, December. Retrieved from https://iasp.info/iasp-ecg/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/IASP-NB-DEC-2017.pdf
(2017). Suicidal behaviors among adolescents – the role of school and home environment. Crisis, 38(3), 168–176. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000426
(2016). Suicide by self-immolation in Tunisia: A 10-year study (2005 – 2014). Burns, 42(7), 1593–1599. 10.1016/j.burns.2016.04.019
(2017). A comparison of suicidal behavior by burns five years before and five years after the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. Burns, 43(4), 858–865. 10.1016/j.burns.2016.10.014
(2015). Suicidal behaviors among Muslim women. Patterns, pathways, meanings, and prevention. Crisis, 36(6), 447–458. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000347
(2017). The burden of mental disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990 – 2013. PLoS One, 12(1),
e0169575 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0169575(1989). Suicide in Jordan 1980 – 1985. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 79(3), 241–244. 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb10252.x
GBD 2015 Eastern Mediterranean Region Mental Health Collaborators . (2018). The burden of mental disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990 – 2015: Findings from the global burden of disease 2015 study. International Journal of Public Health, 63(Suppl 1), 25–37. 10.1007/s00038-017-1006-1(2009). National Survey of Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Egypt: Preliminary survey. East Mediterranean Health Journal, 15(1), 65–75.
(2016). Trend of suicide in Iran during 2009 to 2012: Epidemiological evidences from national suicide registration. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 10(4), e4398. 10.17795/ijpbs-4398
(2013). National registration system of suicide behaviors in Iran: Barriers and challenges. Archives of Suicide Research, 17(4), 416–425. 10.1080/13811118.2013.803445
(2013). Depressive symptoms among Jordanian youth: Results of a national survey. Community Mental Health Journal, 49(1), 133–140. 10.1007/s10597-012-9529-7
(2010). Moroccan national study on prevalence of mental disorders: A community-based epidemiological study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 121(1), 71–74. 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01431.x
(2015). Temperament and suicide: A national study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 184, 123–128. 10.1016/j.jad.2015.05.047
(2006). Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders in Lebanon: A national epidemiological survey. Lancet, 367(9515), 1000–1006. 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)68427-4
(2012). War and first onset of suicidality: the role of mental disorders. Psychological Medicine, 42(10), 2109–2118. 10.1017/S0033291712000268
(1998). Suicide and attempted suicide in Pakistan. Crisis, 19(4), 172–176. 10.1027/0227-5910.19.4.172
(2000). The pattern of suicide in Pakistan. Crisis, 21(1), 31–35. 10.1027/0227-5910.21.1.31
(2015). The epidemiology of suicide behaviors among the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region of WHO: A systematic review. Acta Medica Iranica, 53(5), 257–265.
(2015). Integrating a suicide prevention program into the primary health care network: A field trial study in Iran. Biomed Research International,
193729 . 10.1155/2015/193729(2001). Mental health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization with a view of the future trends. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 7(3), 353–362.
(2016). Health in times of uncertainty in the eastern Mediterranean region, 1990 – 2013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. Lancet Global Health, 4(10), e704–e713. 10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30168-1
(2013). Most common methods of suicide in Eastern Mediterranean Region of WHO: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Suicide Research, 17(4), 335–344. 10.1080/13811118.2013.801811
(2004). Mental health survey of the adult population in Iran. British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 70–73. 10.1192/bjp.184.1.70
(2017). Suicide and deliberate self-harm in Afghanistan. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 26, 29–31. 10.1016/j.ajp.2017.01.004
(2018). Epidemiology and socio-demographic risk factors of self-immolation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Burns, 44(4), 767–775. 10.1016/j.burns.2017.08.013
(2017). Mental disorders in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. International Journal of Public Health, 63(Suppl 1), 9–10. 10.1007/s00038-017-0986-1
(2007). Age and sex suicide rates in the Eastern Mediterranean Region based on global burden of disease estimates for 2000. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 13(4), 953–960.
(2009). Islam and suicide: A short personal communication. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 58(1), 77–85. 10.2190/OM.58.1.e
(2010). Suicide among young Middle Eastern Muslim females: The perspective of an Iranian epidemiologist. Crisis, 31(1), 36–42. 10.1027/0227-5910/a000005
(2013). Epidemiology of self-immolation. Burns, 39(1), 184–186. 10.1016/j.burns.2012.05.022
(2017). The geographical belt of self-immolation. Burns, 43(1), 245–246. 10.1016/j.burns.2017.01.001
(2018a). The WHO well known report on preventing suicide has neglected self-immolation. Burns, 44(1), 238–239. 10.1016/j.burns.2017.09.011
(2018b). The birth of a new suicidology journal: The Journal of Suicide Prevention (JSP). Journal of Suicide Prevention, 1(1), 1–2.
(2012). Suicide attempts and suicide in Iran: Results of national hospital surveillance data. Public Health, 126(11), 990–992. 10.1016/j.puhe.2012.06.006
(2018). Suicide and deliberate self-harm in Pakistan: A scoping review. BMC Psychiatry, 18(1), 44. 10.1186/s12888-017-1586-6
(2012). Epidemiology of suicide and attempted suicide derived from the health system database in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 2001 – 2007. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 18(8), 836–841. 10.1016/s0924-9338(13)75781-x
(2016). Complex emergencies in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Impact on tuberculosis control. International Journal of Mycobacteriology, 5(Suppl 1), S12. 10.1016/j.ijmyco.2016.10.040
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) . (2017). Global trends: Forced displacement in 2016. Retrieved from https://www.refworld.org/docid/594aa38e0.htmlWorld Health Organization . (2014). Preventing suicide: A global imperative. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/world_report_2014/en/World Health Organization – WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. (2018). About us. Retrieved from http://www.emro.who.int/entity/about-us/index.html
