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Review
. 2017 Jun;62(6):381-387.
doi: 10.1177/0706743716659245. Epub 2016 Jul 12.

School- and Community-Based Youth Suicide Prevention Interventions: Hot Idea, Hot Air, or Sham?

Stan Kutcher  1   2 , Yifeng Wei  2 , Pegah Behzadi  2
Affiliations
Review

School- and Community-Based Youth Suicide Prevention Interventions: Hot Idea, Hot Air, or Sham?

Stan Kutcher et al. Can J Psychiatry. 2017 Jun.

Abstract
in English, French

Suicide in young people is a significant health concern, with numerous community- and school-based interventions promising to prevent suicide currently being applied across Canada. Before widespread application of any one of these, it is essential to determine its effectiveness and safety. We systematically reviewed the global literature on one of the most common community suicide prevention interventions in Canada and summarized data on 2 commonly applied school-based suicide prevention programmes. None of these has demonstrated effectiveness in preventing youth suicide or safety in application. Concurrently with their widespread distribution in Canada, the suicide rate in young women has increased-the first time in over 3 decades. Policy and regulatory implications of these findings are discussed.

Le suicide chez les jeunes est une importante préoccupation de santé, et de nombreuses interventions en milieu scolaire et communautaire promettant de prévenir le suicide ont cours présentement dans tout le Canada. Avant la mise en œuvre généralisée de n'importe laquelle de ces interventions, il est essentiel d'en déterminer l'efficacité et la sécurité. Nous avons mené une revue systématique de la littérature mondiale concernant l'une des interventions communautaires de prévention du suicide les plus communes au Canada, et résumé les données de deux programmes de prévention du suicide en milieu scolaire qui sont le plus souvent appliqués. Aucun n'a démontré d'efficacité à prévenir le suicide chez les jeunes, ni aucune sécurité dans son application. En même temps que ces programmes ont été largement distribués au Canada, le taux de suicide chez les jeunes femmes a augmenté – pour la première fois en plus de 3 décennies. Les implications politiques et de réglementation de ces résultats sont discutées.

Keywords: adolescent; community; effective; prevention; suicide; youth.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Level of evidence and readiness for dissemination.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Suicide rate per 100,000 residents in Canada between the years 1985 and 2012. Sources: Statistics Canada. Description for chart 8: divorce and suicide rates, per 100,000, Canada, 1950 to 2008 [Internet]. Available from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2012001/article/desc/11696-08-desc-eng.htm. Statistics Canada. Suicides and suicide rate, by sex and by age group (both sexes rate) [Internet]. Available from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/hlth66d-eng.htm. Statistics Canada. Age-specific mortality with suicide and accident rates, per 100,000, ages 15 to 19, Canada, 1974-2009, deaths per 100,000 [Internet]. Available from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-624-x/2012001/article/desc/11696-06-desc-eng.htm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Suicide Prevention Involves All of Us, Together.
    Grunau M. Grunau M. Can J Psychiatry. 2017 Apr;62(4):295. doi: 10.1177/0706743717695086. Can J Psychiatry. 2017. PMID: 28363259 Free PMC article. No abstract available.
  • Suicide Prevention.
    Kutcher S, Wei Y, Behzadi P. Kutcher S, et al. Can J Psychiatry. 2017 Apr;62(4):296-297. doi: 10.1177/0706743717695087. Can J Psychiatry. 2017. PMID: 28363260 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

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