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Issue 10

 

SPINZ news September 2007

www.spinz.org.nz

In this issue:

• 5th National Suicide Prevention Symposium, November 21 & 22 in Wellington
• World Suicide Prevention Day September 10
• New Asian resource under development
• PI Bros
• New Zealand resource news
• New resources and research news

If you would like a copy of any of the resources listed, for your personal research, please feel free to make a request through our information service info   "at" spinz.org.nz
In some cases a charge may apply due to interlibrary loan costs.

This year the symposium will focus on how the many different sectors identified in the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006 (NZSPS) can contribute to the prevention of suicide in New Zealand.

The strategy encourages participation of 'local government and non-government agencies, individuals, researchers and communities to work more closely together to gain a common understanding of where they fit within the overall spectrum of suicide prevention'.

This includes central government agencies such as health, social development, police, ACC, corrections, justice, education, internal affairs, as well as non-government organisations such as iwi and social services, community groups, businesses, volunteers and others working in this broad and wide ranging field.

The three main streams within our overall theme are policy, research and practice.

The SPINZ Symposium is hosted in partnership with The University of Otago, Regional Public Health Wellington Region, and the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.

Click on image for more information

"World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10 is an annual event sponsored by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, in collaboration with the World Health Organisation. This year the theme of World Suicide Prevention Day is "Suicide Prevention across the Life Span". This theme has been adopted to emphasise the fact that suicide occurs in all ages and suicide prevention and intervention strategies may be adapted to meet the needs of different age groups."

Read the editorial in Crisis journal, volume 28, No. 2, 2007, p. 57-60: World Suicide Prevention Day - September 10, 2007 "Suicide Prevention Across the Life Span" by A.L. Beautrais and Brian Mishara

In New Zealand:

• Living Works, in association with the University of Auckland, will be holding a half day seminar on Sept. 10 at the Blueprint Centre for Learning, Eden Terrace, Auckland. More details
• The release of the new SPINZ Samoan suicide prevention resource Paolo

Paolo "O o'u Paolo ou te malu ai"
" It is my people that give me shelter"

Embracing our Samoan communities:
Suicide prevention information for people
working with Samoans in Niu Sila

SPINZ Asian resource development

SPINZ is currently in the process of developing suicide prevention resources relevant to Chinese communities in New Zealand.

We see these resources as the first step in forming a Suicide Prevention Forum for Asians, with the aim to develop more information resources in more languages for Asian communities.

A consultation forum was held in May, organised by SPINZ, with support from Affinity Services' Asian Team (Wenli Zhang and Sam Koh). More than 30 people, working for community mental health services, DHBs, Problem Gambling, ACC, Supporting Families, Police, etc. have generously put their ideas and passion towards resources that will contribute to better mental health and a reduction of suicide and suicidal behavior within their communities.

Some of the risk factors identified within the forum were: adaptation to a bi-cultural environment, confusion, conflict between two cultures, gambling issues, high individual and family expectations, unemployment and underemployment, financial problems, lack of communication, and support in the family.

Protective factors against suicide within Chinese communities in New Zealand identified by the participants were: support network building, financial support, employment availability, enhancement of family relationship / communication, support resources in the community and a more tolerant society.

The consultation has received a well appreciated feedback from Dr. Samson Tse, Associate Professor and Director of the Mental Health Development Programme, School of Population Health, University of Auckland.

Since August, Vivian Cheung joined the process as project manager. Vivian Cheung is a 1.5 generation who migrated from Hong Kong. She obtained her Bachelor & Master Degree at Auckland University (Psychology). She has worked as the service manager at the Asian Health Support Services at Waitemata DHB, as centre coordinator at AUT in setting up the Asian and Migrant Health Research Centre, and as the National Asian Development Manager at ACC. Apart from her paid employment, she has been volunteering at a Detoxification Centre and helping people with mental illness. Vivian also sits on councils and committees in various community organisations, including as Chairperson for The Asian Network Inc., and the Trustee of Auckland Regional Migrant Services Trust (ARMS).

Vivian Cheung envisages two resources: one will target the Chinese community, the other one will target service providers.

Also under development by SPINZ:

• Samoan suicide prevention resources
• Maori suicide prevention resources

 

PI BROS

Talofa lava, malo le soifua maua

Magnum Tuipuloto
SPINZ Community Liason

Recently through my community liaison work, I was fortunate to meet with the PI BRO'S Pacific Men's group in Tokoroa. Josiah Teokotai and John Natua who are members of PI BRO'S had approached me regarding a presentation for their group around suicide prevention and what could be done in Tokoroa for the Pacific community.

It is often mistaken that suicide prevention is just the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and people get caught up in the cry that nothing is being done. However, if we think of prevention of factors that contribute to suicide risk, there are many community initiatives, projects and work that contribute to the prevention of suicide in New Zealand.

After fellowshipping and sharing some kai with the 'BRO'S', I became more informed of what they do. I believe the work that the PI BRO's are doing in Tokoroa supports Goal 1 of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy. This goal looks at promoting mental health and wellbeing, and preventing mental health problems.

Here is some information about the PI BRO'S, submitted by Josiah Teokotai with the blessings of the Chairperson Bob Tiaki.

Malo fai o le faiva aua le galuega taua mo tatou tagata Pasefika.

PI BRO'S
The Pacific Men's group initiative was established to help make significant changes for Pacific peoples in the South Waikato, through advocating positive Pacific role modelling for Pacific men, their families and the wider Pacific community.

The initiative is now providing opportunities for Pacific men to fellowship in a Pacific forum which touches on issues impacting on Pacific males. Suicide, sexual health, alcohol, drugs and re-offending are common factors amongst Pacific males and this can be partly attributed to loss of cultural identity and lack of positive role models.

This group promotes a forum for Pacific males to discuss and share their skills, knowledge and resources with their peers. The present group consists of strong leaders in their respective careers, professionals and non-professionals, husbands, brothers but more importantly, family men.

The sessions that are organised by the group include coping skills, parenting, cultural practices, mentoring and topic discussions. A positive environment is created through honest and open dialogue.
Individuals are encouraged to lead sessions not only to gain facilitative skills but as a strategy to "fill the basket of Pacific knowledge".

The PI BRO'S have progressed through the first stage of its journey in their community by hosting a variety of successful events. The Annual PI BRO'S Children's Christmas Party, the Annual "Jandel Slam" (A School focussed Variety show) and hosting the Pacific comedy act "Laughing Samoans" have been exceptional successes for the group. They have also been involved in fundraising in which funds are used to support their annual events. The PI BRO'S have stepped up to the next level with community engagement and used these initiatives as an avenue to build capacity. This has proven to be a huge learning for all the PI BRO'S in terms of broadening life skills in a Pacific context.

PI BRO'S is an innovative initiative and possibly first of its kind in Aotearoa-New Zealand. It provides an avenue for men to participate in an environment conducive to its own unique Pacific style, providing space to address social issues impacting on Pacific families. Chairperson for the PI BRO'S is Bob Tiaki supported by vice Chairperson Toru Natua.

New Zealand resource news

If you would like a copy of any of the resources listed, for your personal research, please feel free to make a request through our information service info@spinz.org.nz
In some cases a charge may apply due to interlibrary loan costs.

"We need to talk" - talking therapies - a snapshot of issues and activities across mental health and addiction serices in New Zealand by Janet Peters, July 2007, Te Pou O Te Whakaaro Nui.
"This discussion document was undertaken for Te Pou (New Zealand's National Centre of Mental Health Research and Workforce Development, which is funded by the Ministry of Health). Its aim is to strengthen the recovery approach for people who experience mental health or addiction problems by enhancing their access to talking therapies. This document will inform workforce activities and planning processes…and includes an outline of calls for better access, a description of therapies used in New Zealand, some initial feedback on general issues around talking therapies canvassed from 46 people, and a brief look at who is doing what, where and with whom."

Mensline launches new services

Mensline, operated by Lifeline Auckland, is a free national phone counselling service for men, and staffed by male counsellors.

From September Mensline is launching two new services: Call Back and Call Again counselling. Call Back Counselling will offer callers to Mensline the option of receiving a phone call from a counsellor at an agreed time. This will give counsellors the opportunity to "check in" with a caller who may have been supported through a crisis during a previous call to Mensline and will help ensure that things are progressing well.

Call Again Counselling enables men to call Mensline at a future date and to speak to the same counsellor they had previously spoken with, in this way allowing callers to "pick up where they left off" and eliminating the need to re-tell their story. It enables counsellor and caller to establish a closer rapport and deeper understanding of the issues being discussed.

Mensline operates from 6.30pm to 10.30pm Monday to Friday.
Call 09 522 2500 or from outside Auckland call 0800 MENSLINE (0800 636 754)

Tracking Disparity: Trends in ethnic and socioeconomic inequalities in mortality, 1981 - 2004 Public Health Intelligence Occasional Bulletin No. 38, Ministry of Health, August 2007

"A new report indicates for the first time that inequalities in health between ethnic and income groups in New Zealand may have begun to stabilise and even decrease, the Director-General of Health Stephen McKernan says.

Significantly the report shows that between the late 1990s and the early 2000s the mortality rate ratios appear to have stabilised and the differences in mortality rates between Maori or Pacific and European ethnic groups have narrowed. What's more, it appears that the mortality rate ratios between low and high income groups in New Zealand are no longer increasing as rapidly as they did in the past," Mr McKernan says.

"These findings represent a turnaround of major importance if future monitoring confirms the change in trend. Yet Maori mortality rates remain double those of the European ethnic group, even if the difference is no longer growing. Clearly, there is no room for complacency if we are serious about reducing inequalities in health."

- from Media Release, Ministry of Health

New report from Youth2000

Violence and New Zealand young people: findings of Youth2000 - a national secondary school youth health and wellbeing survey by Terry Fleming and others, University of Auckland, 2007.

Read Mental Health Foundation press release: "Report confirms violence experienced by young people impacts negatively on their mental health".

Fergusson, D.M., Boden, J.M. Horwood, L.J. (2007). Unemployment and suicidal behavior in a New Zealand birth cohort. Crisis, 28(2), 95-101
Christchurch Health and Development Study

Aims to "examine the extent to which exposure to unemployment increases risks of suicidal behaviours when appropriate allowance is made for both observed and nonobserved sources of confounding"*

"The data were gathered over the course of the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), a longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1,265 children born in the Christchurch (New Zealand) urban region in mid-1977. This cohort has been studied at birth, 4 months, 1 year; and annual intervals to age 16 years; and again at ages 18, 21, and 25 years. The present analyses were based on the samples assessed at ages 18, 21, and 25 years for whom full information on unemployment and suicidal behaviors was available.

"There is a modest relationship between unemployment and risk for suicidal behaviours, but much is explained by confounding."

"These findings have relevance for the broader debate about the extent to which exposure to socioeconomic adversity is a causative factor in the development of suicidal behaviors. This issue was examined in a recent review of the role of macrosocial and macroeconomic factors on population rates of suicide (Collings & Beautrais, 2005 A contemporary perspective). That analysis found that, with the exception of unemployment, there was no evidence of linkages between macrosocial and macroeconomic factors and suicide. Furthermore, effects of unemployment on suicide rates were, as in the present study, relatively modest."

*"In addition to the causes that the study is investigating , there may be another factor that is associated with the exposure and independently affects the risk of developing the disease. This is called a confounding factor or variable." - from http://ehib.org/cma/faq.jsp?faq_key=39

Pearce, J., R. Barnett, et al. (2007). Have urban/rural inequalities in suicide in New Zealand grown during the period 1980-2001? Social Science & Medicine, online July 5, ahead of print issue.
GeoHealth Laboratory, Department of Geography, Christchurch

"Previous studies have noted that in many countries there has been a disproportionate increase in suicide in rural areas, contributing to greater urban/rural inequalities in health. This paper evaluates whether this trend was also apparent in New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s, a period of rapid social and economic change. Concludes recent geographical variations in suicide in New Zealand are to a large extent similar to trends observed elsewhere, but are less marked. Potential explanations are offered for the fluctuating urban/rural inequalities in suicide including compositional arguments, rural restructuring and economic decline, social isolation and health service utilisation." - from abstract

PHIOnline - online statistics tool

Public Health Intelligence, Ministry of Health is an online tool with interactive mapping and tables and charts allowing data to be viewed in multiple dimensions. It includes suicide and self-harm statistics and regional analyses.

The new Coroners' Act came into force on 1 July. See their new website at www.justice.govt.nz/coroners including a regional listing of all coroners, and link to the resources "When someone dies - a guide to the Coronial Services of New Zealand" and "The first 48 hours - what to expect after a sudden death".

From the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Charcoal burning suicides in Hong Kong and urban Taiwan: an illustration of the impact of a novel suicide method on overall regional rates by Liu KY, Beautrais A, Caine E, Chan K, Chao A, Conwell Y, Law C, Lee D, Li P, Yip P. Vol 61 no 3, March 2007, pages 248-53.

Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, includes useful discussion of the effect of wide media reporting.

Mental Health Foundation news

Mental Health Awareness Week - 8 -14 October
Theme:
"Who we are and where we stand.
Ko Papatuanuku toku turangawaewae."

- Valuing our diversity as New Zealanders - both the range of cultures and experience of mental illness

- Recognizing the importance of our relationship with this land, as tangata whenua and as more recent immigrants

NZ Mental Health Media Grants awarded
The recipients of the New Zealand Mental Health Media Grants have been announced - media release

National depression campaign wins prestigious NZ marketing award

Information service and resource centre weekly bulletin including SPINZ news updates
Weekly email news updates from the Mental Health Foundation National Information Service
Subscribe to the bulletin at info@mentalhealth.org.nz

New Resources and Research News

If you would like a copy of any of the resources listed, for your personal research, please feel free to make a request through our information service info@spinz.org.nz
In some cases a charge may apply due to interlibrary loan costs.

Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
Published under the Auspices of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)

Issue 2 from 2007 includes an editorial on World Suicide Prevention Day (see above), an article by David Fergusson and others on unemployment and suicidal behaviour in New Zealand (see above), and two articles on suicide in Ireland.

Just published in a 2007 Crisis Supplement, articles on the contribution to suicide prevention of restricting access to methods and sites, including pesticide poisoning, charcoal burning, car exhausts, railway and metro suicides, gun control, drug use, jumping, and the role of media reporting.

In the editorial introduction to the issue, Annette Beautrais says:
"The accumulated evidence suggests that restricting access to a wide range of means and sites of suicide can be an effective, relatively simple approach to suicide prevention - an approach that is, perhaps, sometimes undervalued. At the very least, restriction of method should be considered as one component of any integrated plan for local,regional, and national suicide prevention."

Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, included in its July 2007 issue - free access online.

The construction of youth suicide as a community issue within urban and regional Australia by Simone Fullagar, Heidi Gilchrist and Gerard Sullivan

"There is a dilemma within the suicide prevention field about the extent to which suicide should be openly discussed as a community issue. Some fear provoking imitation while others think it is essential in order to improve awareness, understanding and appropriate responses to young people's distress." The authors believe that silence about suicide only leads to perpetuating stigma, and that there needs to be more critical debate.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS

"Two large scale studies" in the July issue of the American journal of psychiatry "add to the evidence that antidepressant drugs decrease, rather than increase, the risk of suicidal behavior". David Brent in an editorial says these studies grapple with two apparently contradictory sets of observations: the risk for suicidal behavior conveyed by antidepressant treatment versus the potentially protective effects of antidepressant treatment against suicidal behavior.

Robert Gibbons, one of the leading authors said "these two studies clearly show that the greatest risk for suicide is depression. Failure to treat depression, either using pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy, will lead to dramatic increases in the rate of serious suicide attempts and completions in the U.S. and in the world". Listen to audio.

NZ Coroner: Plea for suicide alert on anti-depressants
from The Press Saturday, 7 July 2007
Nelson coroner Ian Smith says "new generation anti-depressants used by more than 135,000 New Zealanders should carry a warning alerting users to the possibility of increased suicidal thinking and behaviour."
"Mental Health Foundation chief executive Judi Clements said the coroner's comments should be taken on board and highlighted an issue already known to be significant."

"The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed a review of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and related antidepressants on the risk of suicidal outcomes compared with placebo in double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trials of adults.

The overall conclusions of the review are consistent with those of the UK and EU-ie, that adult trial participants who receive SSRIs or related drugs are not at overall increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviour compared with those who receive placebo. However, the US review lends support to the concern that young adults (ie, those younger than 25 years) may have increased risk of suicidal behaviour.

The safety of all antidepressant medication remains under continuing review in the UK and EU. Product information is being updated to reflect the most recent data for the increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviour in young adults, and to reinforce the need for monitoring of patients for any clinical worsening,
suicidal thoughts, or unusual changes in behaviour-particularly early on during treatment and around the time of dose change."
source: Drug Safety Update vol 1 issue 1 Aug 2007

Faster-Acting Antidepressants Closer to Becoming a Reality
"Experimental medication ketamine relieves depression in just hours; points to targets for new medications"
A new study has revealed more about how the medication ketamine, when used experimentally for depression, relieves symptoms of the disorder in hours instead of the weeks or months it takes for current antidepressants to work. While ketamine itself probably won't come into use as an antidepressant because of its side effects, the new finding moves scientists considerably closer to understanding how to develop faster-acting antidepressant medications - among the priorities of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health

Hetrick, S., Merry, S., McKenzie, J., Sindahl, P., & Proctor, M. (2007). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for depressive disorders in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database Syst Rev(3), CD004851. Review.
"Implications for practice
The evidence for effectiveness of SSRIs compared with placebo in the treatment of depressive disorder in children and adolescents is far from compelling. The limitations in the trials carried out thus far mean that there are no definitive answers for those working with children and adolescents with depressive disorder.
Even when there is evidence that SSRIs reduce depressive symptoms, it is unclear whether the difference in effect between SSRIs and placebo reflects a difference that is of clinical importance to patients. As studies have largely been done in children and adolescents with no co-morbid conditions and with no significant suicidal ideation, it is unclear how children and adolescents with more serious difficulties and those at risk of suicide would respond. There is evidence to suggest an increased risk of suicide related behaviours (combined suicidal ideation and definitive suicidal behaviour) in those treated with SSRIs, but the importance of this is unclear as is the association between SSRIs and suicide completion. Untreated depressive disorder is associated with the risk of completed suicide and impacts on academic and social functioning. It is not clear that treatment with an SSRI will modify this risk in any significant way.
For clinicians, results of the review may mean that the threshold of severity for treatment of a depressive disorder with SSRIs is raised. Clinicians should make every effort to present the information on the potential benefits and risks of SSRIs, including the risks of untreated depression, and together with the child or adolescent and their family, consider the various options for treatment. This should include consideration of psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy and other non medication options. The risk of suicide should be assessed and, if medication is used, this should be monitored particularly closely.
Given the evidence does not clearly answer questions about the effectiveness and harms of SSRIs there is a need for further research"

Goodyer, I., Dubicka, B., Wilkinson, P., Kelvin, R., Roberts, C., Byford, S., et al. (2007). Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and routine specialist care with and without cognitive behaviour therapy in adolescents with major depression: randomised controlled trial. BMJ, 335(7611), 142.
Writing in an editorial in BMJ, Philip Hazell (University of Sydney): "This is the fourth study to assess the combination of SSRI and cognitive behaviour therapy over just one therapy for depression in adolescents...Optimal treatment for depression in adolescents in unclear. Concern about an increased rate of suicidal behaviours with antidepressants in trials in adolescents has led to safety warnings about their use… Should adolescents with depression be prescribed antidepressants, and if so, should they be given only with psychotherapy?... While this trial suggests that therapy with an SSRI is a reasonable treatment option for moderate to severe depression in adolescents", its conclusions are open to interpretation.

BEREAVEMENT

Beyond the death of a child: social impacts and economic costs of the death of a child, Jon Stebbins and Trevor Batrouney, The Compassionate Friends Victoria, Australia
link is to full report
"Two-thirds of the bereaved families in this study lived in metropolitan Melbourne and one-third in regional Victoria. The majority of parents whose children had died were in their thirties and forties. The major causes of death were vehicular accidents, other accidents, suicide, SIDS, still-birth or miscarriage, cancer and other chronic illnesses."

Jordan, J.R. (2007). After suicide loss: what can we learn from grief research. Surviving suicide, 19(2), Summer 2007, 7-9.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz

Wilsey, S.A., Shear, M.K. (2007). Descriptions of social support in treatment narratives of complicated grievers. Death studies, 31(9), 801-819.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz

Hsiung, R. C. (2007). A suicide in an online mental health support group: reactions of the group members, administrative responses, and recommendations. Cyberpsychology & behavior : the impact of the Internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behavior and society, 10(4): 495-500.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz

MEANS

Murray, D. and D. de Leo (2007). Suicidal behavior by motor vehicle collision. Traffic Injury Prevention 8(3): 244-7.
Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Australia.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
"The ability for suicides of drivers to be disguised as traffic accidents raises the possibility that suicidal behaviors of this nature are far more prevalent than previously thought, potentially impacting health, road safety, and insurance companies. Results suggest the use of this method, particularly in attempts made by males, may be underreported leading to inaccuracy of statistics. The motives behind choosing this method are somewhat different to those behind other methods, including financial benefits and eliminating stigma in the aftermath of a suicide." - from abstract

OLDER ADULTS

Older adults: overview of the literature, NSW Institute of Psychiatry for Auseinet, 2007. Monograph 4 of the Promotion, Prevention and Early Intervention for Mental Health in General Practice Monograph series
link is to full report
"The population of Australia is ageing. It is predicted that by 2041, 5.7 million or one quarter of the population will be aged over 65 years. Many people are living longer and there are increasing numbers of 'older old' who are aged 80 years and over.
The mental health of older adults, indeed of all our community, is a product of social as well as biological and psychological factors. Mental health and physical wellbeing are inextricably connected and this is even more evident as people age. There are a number of physical diseases that are common in late life which affect the mental health of older people and there are also a number of factors that contribute to the development of mental illness in late age. Social isolation, a sense of meaning and purpose, poverty - these require community approaches and solutions. Indeed it has been argued that older people must themselves be involved in the solutions for them to be effective (Seymour & Gale, 2004).
This overview of the literature has been commissioned with two aims: firstly to examine the evidence for promotion, prevention and early intervention (PPEI) approaches to mental health in older adults with special attention to the general practice context, and secondly to support a learning module for general practitioners."

PREVENTION STRATEGIES

Mackenzie, M., Blamey, A., Halliday, E., Maxwell, M., McCollam, A., McDaid, D., et al. (2007). Measuring the tail of the dog that doesn't bark in the night: the case of the national evaluation of Choose Life (the national strategy and action plan to prevent suicide in Scotland). BMC Public Health, 7, 146.
link is to full report

PRISON SETTINGS

Kariminia, A., Law, M. G., Butler, T. G., Corben, S. P., Levy, M. H., Kaldor, J. M., et al. (2007). Factors associated with mortality in a cohort of Australian prisoners. Eur J Epidemiol.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
From abstract: "We examined factors associated with increased mortality in a cohort of 85,203 adults with a history of imprisonment in New South Wales, Australia, between 1988 and 2002... Our results reinforce how disadvantaged prisoners are, measured by mortality".

RISK FACTORS

Belik, S. L., Cox, B. J., Stein, M. B., Asmundson, G. J., & Sareen, J. (2007). Traumatic events and suicidal behavior: results from a national mental health survey. J Nerv Ment Dis, 195(4), 342-349.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
"The results imply that exposure to traumatic events is associated with the incidence of suicidal behaviors above and beyond the effect of sociodemographics, mental disorders, and physical disorders assessed in the survey" - from abstract

Christensen, J., Vestergaard, M., Mortensen, P. B., Sidenius, P., & Agerbo, E. (2007). Epilepsy and risk of suicide: a population-based case-control study. Lancet Neurol, 6(8), 693-698.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
"Individuals with epilepsy have a higher risk of suicide, even if coexisting psychiatric disease, demographic differences, and socioeconomic factors are taken into account. Our study identifies people with newly diagnosed epilepsy as a vulnerable group that require special attention."

Moore, T. H., Zammit, S., Lingford-Hughes, A., Barnes, T. R., Jones, P. B., Burke, M., et al. (2007). Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review. Lancet, 370(9584), 319-328.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
Systematic review of 35 studies looking at the strength of evidence for a causal relationship between cannabis use and the occurrence of psychiotic or other mental health disorders. Shows cannabis can increase risk of developing a psychotic illness later in life, but less consistent findings for depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety.

Simpson, G. K., Tate, R. L., (2007). Preventing suicide after traumatic brain injury: implications for general practice. Medical Journal of Australia, 187(4), 229-232
link is to full article

Voracek, M., & Loibl, L. M. (2007). Genetics of suicide: a systematic review of twin studies. Wien Klin Wochenschr, 119(15-16), 463-475.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
"The totality of evidence from twin studies of suicide strongly suggests genetic contributions to liability for suicidal behavior."

SCHOOL-BASED PREVENTION

Aseltine, R. H., Jr., James, A., Schilling, E. A., & Glanovsky, J. (2007). Evaluating the SOS suicide prevention program: a replication and extension. BMC Public Health, 7(1), 161.
USA
link is to full article
" SOS continues to be the only universal school-based suicide prevention program to demonstrate significant effects of self-reported suicide attempts in a study utilizing a randomized experimental design"

YOUTH

Swahn, M. H., & Bossarte, R. M. (2007). Gender, early alcohol use, and suicide ideation and attempts: findings from the 2005 youth risk behavior survey. J Adolesc Health, 41(2), 175-181.
request full article from info@spinz.org.nz
"Alcohol use among adolescents, particularly preteen alcohol use initiation, is an important risk factor for both suicide ideation and suicide attempts among boys and girls. Increased efforts to delay and reduce early alcohol use are needed, and may reduce suicide attempts." - from abstract

In Brief:

USA

• National Center for Trauma-Informed Care website
• Response: a comprehensive high-school based suicide awareness program added to Best Practice Registry
• "The Bridge", a controversial documentary, part of the International Film Festival this year, is about suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
  Recently released, a coronial report: A Ten-Year Report: Golden Gate Bridge Suicide Demographics.
  Also see the San Francisco Chronicle's feature on the Golden Gate Bridge: link
• Spirituality, depression and suicide, special section on the relationship with spirituality in Southern medical journal, July 2007

Australia

• Resilience programs, Pathways Health and Research Centre
• Head to head in BMJ: Is depression overdiagnosed?
  - two Australian academics argue the point, also discussed in ABC Science Online "Is feeling blue the new black"

UK

• Literature review: resilience in children and young people,
  NCH - The Bridge Child Care Development Service, June 2007

New book title

Suicide risk management: a manual for health professionals, Blackwell Publishing, 2007

To order suicide prevention publications and brochures click here

SPINZ e-news is edited by Russell Tuffery, SPINZ Information Officer. Contact Russell to obtain or access any of the resources listed here or on the SPINZ website phone 09 300 3075, fax 09 300 7020 or email info@spinz.org.nz

Russell is a part of the Resource Centre team at the Mental Health Foundation, 1st floor, 81 New North Rd, Eden Terrace, Auckland.

If you would like a copy of any of the research articles listed, for your personal research, please feel free to make a request through our information service. In some cases a charge may apply due to interloan costs.

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