Increasing employment, improved health service access could lower suicide rates – PAHO study
Head of Mental Health and Substance Use at PAHO, Dr Renato Oliveira e Souza
A new study by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), published on Thursday in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, has found that increasing employment opportunities and improving access to and availability of health services, including those for substance use, could potentially reduce suicide mortality rates in the Americas.
It highlights the importance of considering gender-specific social determinants of suicide when developing risk reduction interventions and prevention strategies.
Meanwhile, it was identified that while homicide and the use of alcohol and other substances are associated with an increase in suicide mortality among males, educational inequality was the main factor among females. For both sexes, unemployment was associated with an increase in suicide mortality.
Enhancing social connections in rural and underpopulated areas is a recommended suicide prevention strategy.
Despite efforts to reduce suicide globally, the Americas is the only region in the world where suicide mortality has been increasing since 2000. Some 79 percent of suicides in the Americas occur among men, but among women, suicide has also been increasing. In 2019, there were more than 97,000 suicides in the region.
“In order to prevent suicide, we must go beyond limiting access to methods of suicide, strengthening socioemotional skills, and improving access to mental health care…We must also address the contextual factors that affect men and women differently, which require an all-of-society approach,” Head of Mental Health and Substance Use at PAHO, Dr. Renato Oliveira e Souza, said.
The analysis published in The Lancet also highlights that the average suicide mortality rate among males in the region declined as per capita health spending grew, while that of females declined as the number of physicians employed per 10,000 population increased. For both sexes, the rate declined as moderate population density grew, a cautionary note highlighting the need to support people living in isolated rural areas.
“Cultural expectations around gender largely determine the sex difference in suicide mortality…Multisectoral measures aimed at the health and wellbeing of society should be emphasized in prevention efforts,” stated a Scientist at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research (CAMH) in Canada, and lead author of the paper, Dr. Shannon Lange.
PAHO is working to improve the mental health of the population of the Americas and reduce suicide mortality. The Organization provides technical cooperation in suicide prevention to countries through the application of WHO’s Live Life guide, which proposes evidence-based interventions and a comprehensive national response to prevent suicide.
Despite efforts to reduce suicide globally, the Americas is the only region in the world where suicide mortality has been increasing since 2000. Some 79 percent of suicides in the Americas occur among men, but among women, suicide has also been increasing. In 2019, there were more than 97,000 suicides in the region.
