Availability, Effectiveness, and Sufficiency of Suicide Prevention Services: A Global Effort during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2023 Fiscal Year Research-status Report

• Project/Area Number: 22K11087
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University
• Principal Investigator: グエン フイティエン 長崎大学, 熱帯医学・グローバルヘルス研究科, 客員研究員 (20457526)
• Project Period (FY): 2022-04-01 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: suicide / helpline services / survey

Outline of Annual Research Achievements

The alarming rise in suicide rates is a growing concern in society today. To prevent a surge in suicide rates, it is crucial to strengthen suicide prevention services. Hence, our study aims to assess the availability, effectiveness, and patient experience of suicide prevention healthcare services. We successfully developed a questionnaire and conducted a cross-sectional, observational survey to search for areas of challenges or possible improvement of healthcare services to prevent suicide. We got 446 responses from 104 countries. Results show that 59% of helplines operate monolingually, 89.9% lack translation services, and 47.8% do not train new staff, revealing significant gaps in preparedness. Recommendations include enhancing staff qualifications and language access.

Current Status of Research Progress

2: Research has progressed on the whole more than it was originally planned.

Reason

This global research project is progressing rather smoothly due to the effective collaboration and communication among the international team members. Additionally, the robust planning and utilization of diverse resources have helped in addressing potential challenges promptly and efficiently.

Strategy for Future Research Activity

We will proceed with the qualitative study, which involves conducting interviews with key stakeholders in suicide prevention, such as healthcare providers, community leaders. Using a grounded theory approach, we will analyze the data by identifying emerging themes and categories to develop a theoretical understanding of the phenomenon. Our focus during this study will be on identifying obstacles to effective suicide prevention, including stigma, lack of awareness, insufficient resources, and cultural factors that affect help-seeking behavior. Additionally, we will explore potential solutions to these challenges, such as increasing awareness, enhancing access to resources, and reducing stigma.

Causes of Carryover

A budget is needed to cover the publication fee for an open-source journal and our suicide prevention campaign website. I also plan to use the budget allocated to attend conferences. These conferences would be highly beneficial for our research network and could greatly contribute to our efforts in improving suicide prevention. In addition, a visit to a local helpline service to discuss with healthcare workers is crucial.