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Issue 5

 

Autumn 2006 Issue
www.spinz.org.nz

Contents

• New Zealand resources update
• Upcoming events
• Australian resources update
• International resources update
• New Books
• Obtaining Resources

Check the SPINZ website for continually updated resource news

New Zealand resources update

The Coroners bill was reported back to Parliament from the Justice and Electoral Select Committee in April. The bill repeals the Coroners Act and replaces it with a new act. It reforms the coronial regime and creates comprehensive systems of inquiry and inquest. It also recognises the rights of families and places greater emphasis on cultural and spiritual sensitivity. With regard to media reporting of suicide, Committee chairperson Lynne Pillay said "We remain concerned about the implications for public safety and the possible consequences of a change if the reporting restrictions are lifted, and support the restrictions continuing."

Committee report

Ministry of Health Requests for Proposals

• Support For Families/whānau and Significant Others After a Suicide or Suicide Attempt - closes 22 May
• Evaluation of the Ministry of Health's Public Health Kia Piki te Ora o te Taitamariki Community Development Youth Suicide Prevention Programme - closes 22 May

Drs Annette Beautrais and David Fergussson have co-authored a review of suicidality in Māori in the latest issue of Archives of suicide research. The April-June 2006 issue of the journal is devoted to looking at suicide among indigenous peoples.

Reference: Beautrais, A. L., Fergusson, David M. (2006). Indigenous Suicide in New Zealand. Archives of Suicide research, 10(2), 159-168

The article "examines rates of suicidal behavior for…the Māori population, reviews explanations that have been put forward to account for the observed rates, and considers approaches to effective intervention to reduce rates of suicidal behavior".

Poland, M., & Legge, J. (2005). Review of New Zealand longitudinal studies: Families Commission (31 pages)

Includes the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, the Christchurch Health and Development Study, and the Canterbury Suicide Project

Fergusson, D. M., Poulton, R., Smith, P. F., & Boden, J. M. (2006). Cannabis and psychosis. BMJ, 332(7534), 172-175.
Looks at the evidence around links of cannabis to mental health problems.

Self-harm and Suicide Prevention Collaborative.
The New Zealand Guidelines Group (NZGG) has been commissioned by the Ministry of Health to run a multi-year project to implement the guidelines for the Assessment and Management of People at risk of suicide. Seventeen Emergency Departments from 10 DHBs are participating in the collaborative. More information at NZGG website.

Skogstad, P., Deane, F. P., & Spicer, J. (2006). Social-cognitive determinants of help-seeking for mental health problems among prison inmates. Crim Behav Ment Health, 16(1), 43-59.
Looks at help-seeking behaviours from a study of male inmates from six New Zealand prisons

Blakely, T., & Wilson, N. (2006). Shifting dollars, saving lives: what might happen to mortality rates, and socio-economic inequalities in mortality rates, if income was redistributed? Soc Sci Med, 62(8), 2024-2034. NZ Census-Mortality Study

Fortune, S., Seymour, F., & Lambie, I. (2005). Suicide behaviour in a clinical sample of children and adolescents in New Zealand. New Zealand journal of psychology, 34(3), 164-167.

From abstract: "This study aimed to establish the prevalence of suicide ideation and suicidal behaviour in a child and adolescent mental health service and examine if children and adolescents with deliberate self-harm (DSH) were different from those who had not engaged in DSH in terms of individual and family risk factors. A file audit was conducted of 100 clients in a South Auckland service…Children and adolescents who had engaged in DSH and/or had suicide ideation were older, had more maternal substance abuse, more family history of offending, were more likely to have been sexually abused, used more substances themselves, and were more likely to have previous episodes of DSH"

Proceedings - Men's Issues Summits 2005 edited by Stuart Birks, December 2005 (Massey University, Centre for Public Policy Evaluation, Issues paper no. 15), 96 pages available online

Upcoming events

• Mental Health Promotion Network Meeting, May 17, 1-3pm at skylight, Wellington, guest speaker Barry Taylor "Men, depression and suicide prevention", rsvp Mary Strang Regional Public Health, ph 04 384 3156
• Fourth National Mental Health Promotion Hui, Palmerston North, 24 & 25 May
• International Men's Health week 12-18 June
• Youth Suicide Prevention seminars, Dr Graham Martin, 19 & 20 June, Auckland
• Raeburn House, Term 2 various courses and workshops promoting mental well-being, North Shore, Auckland
• Involve 2006 Conference on Youth Health & Development, Nov 1-3, Christchurch

Australian Resources Update

Pirkis, J. E., Burgess, P. M., Francis, C., Blood, R. W., & Jolley, D. J. (2006). The relationship between media reporting of suicide and actual suicide in Australia. Soc Sci Med, 62(11), 2874-2886. Abstract extract: "This study aimed to determine whether media items about suicide were associated with differential increases in actual suicides... We found that 39% of media items were followed by an increase in male suicides, and 31% by an increase in female suicides. Media items were more likely to be associated with increases in both male and female suicides if they occurred in the context of multiple other reports on suicide (versus occurring in isolation), if they were broadcast on television (versus other media), and if they were about completed suicide (versus attempted suicide or suicidal ideation)... Further research on this topic is required, but in the meantime there is a need to remain vigilant about how suicide news is reported. Mental health professionals and suicide experts should collaborate with media professionals to try to balance 'public interest' against the risk of harm"

Improving self-esteem is an internet-based resource published by the Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI), in Perth. Written for consumers, it is organised into 9 online modules with information about low self-esteem - how it develops, how it persists, and how to address this problem. The Centre is part of the public mental health system. Their website also has resources for mental health professionals and doctors.

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry – the 40th anniversary issue of this journal is available free online and includes articles on mental health literacy, a review of evaluation studies of mental health first aid training, Risk and protective factors for medically serious suicide attempts, and depression awareness

Youth Studies Australia, v.25 no.1, March 2006
Special focus issue on youth mental health

Mindframe Media and Mental Health Project, Project Summary of key achievemernts, January 2006 [Reporting Suicide and Mental Illness resources, Australia]
See their website

Australian Senate Select Committee on Mental Health: from crisis to community first report released (March 2006)
"After an inquiry that lasted a year, a Senate committee has recommended sweeping changes to mental health services in Australia. The Select Committee on Mental Health wants a new system which would put the emphasis on community-based care. It has called for a significant increase in funding to provide for up to 400 mental health centres across Australia. The Council of Australian Governments has declared Mental Health a top priority. More

Beyond Words: Lessons on translation, trust and meaning from the No more ‘mualagh' project

From Multicultural Mental Health Australia, "a model for delivery on promoting mental health issues and learning from culturally diverse communities"

Latest Suicide statistics from Australia (2004) released
"Although comparing the number of suicide deaths over time must be done cautiously (see notes on ‘Cautions in interpreting suicide statistics'), the 2004 figure of 2,098 suicides deaths suggests a continued decline in the number of registered suicide deaths since the peak of 2,720 suicide deaths in 1997. In 2003, there were 2,213 deaths by suicide. This decline in the number of suicides over recent years is seen for both males and females" – LIFE key findings

The Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) at Griffith University, Queensland (Director Professor Diego De Leo) "has been officially designated a World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention. AISRAP becomes only the second such centre in the world to hold the WHO distinction. It will drive research and practice to overcome the problem of suicide, especially in the Western Pacific Region, which has some of the highest rates of suicide in the world" 

International Resources Update

World Suicide Prevention Day is on 10 September 2006. "Each year the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), in collaboration with the World Health Organisation, uses this day to call attention to suicide as a leading cause of premature and preventable death. This year's theme is "With understanding, new hope" and the focus is upon translating current scientific knowledge and research about suicidal behaviour into practical programmes and activities that can reduce suicidal behaviour and save lives"

National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England - Annual Report on Progress 2005.
Click here to download this 65 page report
"The overall rate of suicide amongst the general population is at the lowest rate on record although the single year rate for 2004 does indicate a slight rise from the previous year. Although the majority of suicides occur in young adult males we are now seeing evidence of a sustained and welcome fall in this high-risk group. We are
also seeing a reduction in the number of suicides amongst those in contact with mental health services and in prisons although it is too early to know if this indicates a downward trend. Whilst these figures are positive, we must continue to work hard to ensure that this downward trend continues." – foreword page 5.

Lowest suicide rate since records began – Dept of Health, England

Suicide prevention in the schools - 6 pages, Apr 2006, Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action, University of Maryland, Baltimore USA. Note: New Zealand has some different guidelines which encourage and support work in schools that enhance mental health, wellbeing and emotional literacy, rather than universal (whole population) classroom-based specific suicide prevention programmes.

What employers can do to prevent suicide from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, USA – 6 pages

'Out On Your Own': Research into the Mental Health of Same-Sex Attracted Men [Northern Ireland]

"The research was launched in March 2006 and found that one third of respondents (of a sample of 190) had a mental health difficulty. Over one quarter had attempted suicide; over two thirds had considered suicide and thirty percent had self-harmed. The research illustrates that homophobic attitudes and prevailing heterosexism in Northern Irish society, together with the isolation that being non-heterosexual may bring, play a major part in the incidence of mental health difficulties, suicidal ideation and self-harm in this population."

Research

Note: links are to the abstract, or the full article, where available

Crisis latest issue (vol 27 no 1 – the journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, published under the auspices of the International Association for Suicide Prevention -IASP, and co-edited by Dr Annette Beautrais)

• Strike, C., Rhodes, A. E., Bergmans, Y., & Links, P. (2006). Fragmented pathways to care: the experiences of suicidal men. Crisis, 27(1), 31-38.
• De Leo, D., Burgis, S., Bertolote, J. M., Kerkhof, A. J., & Bille-Brahe, U. (2006). Definitions of suicidal behavior: lessons learned from the WHO/EURO multicentre Study. Crisis, 27(1), 4-15.

Suicide and life-threatening behaviour latest issues - vol 36 no 1 and 2 (just out) are available, with issue 1 available free online

Barney, L. J., Griffiths, K. M., Jorm, A. F., & Christensen, H. (2006). Stigma about depression and its impact on help-seeking intentions. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 40(1), 51-54. Full article online

Blashki, G., Pirkis, J., Morgan, H., & Ciechomski, L. (2006). Managing depression and suicide risk in men presenting to primary care physicians. Prim Care, 33(1), 211-221, x-xi. Monash University, Melbourne

Donald, M., Dower, J., Correa-Velez, I., & Jones, M. (2006). Risk and protective factors for medically serious suicide attempts: a comparison of hospital-based with population-based samples of young adults. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 40(1), 87-96. Full article online

Goldney, R. D. (2006). Suicide and antidepressants: what is the evidence? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 381-385.
Reviews the "best currently available evidence" and concludes that data is increasingly pointing to the effectiveness of antidepressants in reducing suicide.

Hall, W. D. (2006). Cannabis use and the mental health of young people. Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 40(2), 105-113.

Heisel, M. J. (2006). Suicide and its prevention among older adults. Can J Psychiatry, 51(3), 143-154.

Judd, F., Cooper, A.-M., Fraser, C., & Davis, J. (2006). Rural suicide—people or place effects? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40(3), 208-.

Juurlink, D. N., Mamdani, M. M., Kopp, A., & Redelmeier, D. A. (2006). The risk of suicide with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the elderly. Am J Psychiatry, 163(5), 813-821.

Kay, W. K., & Francis, L. J. (2006). Suicidal ideation among young people in the UK: Churchgoing as an inhibitory influence? Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 9(2), 127-140.

Kitchener, B. A., & Jorm, A. F. (2006). Mental health first aid training: review of evaluation studies. Aust N Z J Psychiatry, 40(1), 6-8.
Full article online

Liu, X., & Buysse, D. J. (2006). Sleep and youth suicidal behavior: a neglected field. Curr Opin Psychiatry, 19(3), 288-293.
Full article online

Mitchell, A. J., & Dennis, M. (2006). Self harm and attempted suicide in adults: 10 practical questions and answers for emergency department staff. Emerg Med J, 23(4), 251-255.
Full article online.

Stark, C., Gibbs, D., Hopkins, P., Belbin, A., Hay, A., & Selvaraj, S. (2006). Suicide in farmers in Scotland. Rural Remote Health, 6(1), 509. Full article online

Stark, C., Belbin, A., Hopkins, P., Gibbs, D., Hay, A., & Gunnell, D. (2006). Male suicide and occupation in Scotland. Health Stat Q(29), 26-29.

Wasserman, D., Cheng, Q., & Jiang, G. X. (2005). Global suicide rates among young people aged 15-19. World Psychiatry, 4(2), 114-120.
Full article online.

Whittington, C. J., Kendall, T., & Pilling, S. (2005). Are the SSRIs and atypical antidepressants safe and effective for children and adolescents? Curr Opin Psychiatry, 18(1), 21-25.
Full article online

Wilhelm, K., Niven, H., Mitchell, P., Malhi, G., Wedgwood, L., Austin, M-P., et al. (2006). Actions taken to cope with depression in patients seeking specialist care. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 239-244.

Winkler. (2006). Gender-specific symptoms of depression and anger attacks. The Journal of Men's Health & Gender, 3(1), 19-24.
Full article online

New Books

Prevention and Treatment of Suicidal Behaviour : From Science to Practice (Paperback), Oxford University Press, November 2005, edited by Keith Hawton. See contents here
(SPINZ Library reference copy)

Why People Die by Suicide (Hardcover) by Thomas Joiner, Harvard University Press, 2006. See contents here
(SPINZ Library, reference and lending copies)

Adolescent Suicide: Assessment and Intervention, Second Edition
Alan L. Berman, David A. Jobes, and Morton M. Silverman, American Psychological Association, 2005. See contents here
(SPINZ Library reference copy)

Obtaining Resources

SPINZ e-news is compiled by Russell Tuffery, SPINZ Information Officer. Contact Russell for any of the resources here or on the SPINZ website, phone 09 300 7035 or email info@spinz.org.nz

SPINZ can supply many of these, but we are constrained by copyright in some cases. Also try your organisation's library or your public library. Many resources can be obtained for a small fee via interlibrary loan (interloan) - ask at your local library.

Please contact Russell if you are having difficulty obtaining a resource

Information Request Form