Preventing Suicide: An Evidence-Based Approach

According to the WHO in 2024, more than 720,000 people die due to suicide every year. With practical, evidence-based interventions, suicides can be prevented. This book addresses and evaluates those strategies in order to address this global health issue. Written by international experts in the field, this book provides global strategies applicable in both High Income and Low/Middle Income country settings. Chapters cover topics such as decriminalisation, the role of intention, the reasons for the excess of male deaths by suicide in High Income countries, and the relationship between suicide and violence. The book emphasises practicality and accessibility, making it an authoritative guide for practitioners and policy makers around the world. This succinct and evidence-based resource is essential reading for those seeking to develop and implement global suicide prevention strategies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction; Section 1. Suicide as a Public Health Problem: 1. Suicide is a global problem Rob Poole, Catherine Robinson and Murad M. Khan; 2. Mental health gap and suicide Oyedeji Ayonrinde and Nomusa Mngoma; 3. Preventing male suicide: an evidence-based approach Silvia Sara Canetto; 4. National Suicide Prevention Policies Murad M. Khan; Section 2. Specific Challenges in Preventing Suicide: 5. Using evidence in suicide prevention Rob Poole; 6. Suicide and the media Angela Nicholas, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler, Jo Robinson, Mark Sinyor and Jane Pirkis; 7. Suicide and violence Emily Bebbington and Mohsen Rezaeian; 8. Suicide prevention in young people Katrina Witt, Sarah Hetrick and Jo Robinson; 9. Suicide and minority groups Sirar Jaroudy and Erminia Colucci; 10. Suicide and Occupation Ananta Dave and Ellen Wilkinson; 11. Substance use disorder and suicide Mohammed T. Abou-Saleh: 12 .Decriminalizing suicide attempt in Ghana: journey thus far Joseph Osafo and Johnny Andoh-Arthur: Section 3. Practicalities: 13. Suicide prevention in clinical practice Linda Gask and Alex Thomson; 14. Community Action Melissa Pearson and Thilini Rajapakse; 15. Surveillance Catherine Robinson and Rob Poole; 16. Postvention following bereavement by suicide Alexandra Pitman and Keith Hawton; Index.

About the Author :
Rob Poole was involved in the conceptualisation and execution of the SASHI project to reduce suicide in South Asia. He has been an NHS consultant psychiatrist since 1988, and a clinical academic since 2009. He has co-authored three previous textbooks. He received the RCPsych Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Murad M. Khan was the Pakistan lead for the SASHI project. He is a clinical academic psychiatrist and has conducted seminal research on suicidal behaviours in Pakistan, focusing on epidemiology, socio-cultural and religious factors and surveillance systems for suicide and self-harm. He has co-authored four previous books. He is past-President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention. Catherine A. Robinson led the successful SASHI project to reduce suicide in South Asia. She is a psychologist turned social science researcher who is interested in the social determinants of heath, and the interface between social and clinical phenomena. She is especially interested in the implementation of rigorous surveillance.