A new report "Youth suicide prevention – an evidence briefing" will be launched on Tuesday 19th October 2004 at 1pm at the Hilton Hotel in Belfast by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Henrietta Campbell.
EMBARGO –Midnight Monday 18th October 2004
Youth suicide is a major global public health issue and consistently ranks as one of the leading cause of death for adolescents aged 15 -19. Suicide accounts for 30% of deaths in the 15-24 year age group.
Youth suicide prevention , is a joint initiative between the Health Development Agency (HDA) in England, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland* and Programme for Action for Children in Ireland and aims to identify all systematic reviews in this field, and to analyse and combine the evidence to highlight what measures work to prevent youth suicide.
The briefing has identified the following key risk factors that need attention when developing future youth suicide prevention programmes:
- a previous history of suicide attempt,
- a history of depression,
- substance misuse,
- poor family circumstances,
- certain personality traits such as poor problem-solving ability, impulsiveness and aggression
- the availability and means to commit suicide
Dr Jane Wilde, Director of the Institute of Public Health in Ireland said:
“Suicide is a very important public health issue in Northern Ireland and Ireland, causing real concern in the community, and we all wish to understand more to help in its prevention. This study is a contribution to our knowledge and we hope it will help those working in this area.”
Professor Mike Kelly, Director of Evidence and Guidance, HDA said:
“We recommend systematic evaluation of the existing approaches that appear to work. We need new research to be undertaken with large youth samples to find out reliably what factors will lead to a reduction in suicide in our young people.”
Dr Philip Crowley one of the authors of the report said:
"Unemployment and suicide are linked, especially in young men and rates of suicidal behaviour are higher among manual occupation groups. Social policy measures need to prevent suicide by addressing the broader socioeconomic and environmental determinants of health."
Key recommendations include:
- Interventions to improve youth mental health with a focus on suicide as an outcome should be reviewed and if there is a lack of evidence then initiatives should be developed and evaluated.
- Targeted interventions for youth suicide among ethnic minorities, those with disabilities and other minority youth groups need to be developed and evaluated.
- The impact of reducing access to the means of suicide and the role of media should be further researched.
- There is a need for studies on young people who have deliberately harmed themselves who are not admitted to hospital.
- Future research on risk factors and suicide prevention interventions should involve young people, recognise diversity and take into account the needs of specific minority groups, especially those in care and homeless youth.
Notes to Editors
* The Institute of Public Health has been set up to identify and develop practical advantages from building greater co-operation for public health between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. We work in four areas; policy advice, information surveillance, research and capacity building and our objective is to tackle inequalities in health and improve the health of the public.
For further information contact
Arlene McKay, Information Officer, Institute of Public Health in Ireland
Tel: +44 (28) 90 648494/ 07734 903944
Email: arlene.mckay@publichealth.ie
Copies of the report will be available at the launch and online on our website.
