The International journal of social psychiatry
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Int J Soc Psychiatry · Jul 2010
Comparative StudyThe relationship between general population suicide rates and mental health funding, service provision and national policy: a cross-national study.
The main aims were to examine the relationship between general population suicide rates and the presence of national policies on mental health, funding for mental health, and measures of mental health service provision. ⋯ Cross-national ecological studies using national-level aggregate data are not helpful in establishing a causal relationship (and the direction of this relationship) between suicide rates and mental health funding, service provision and national policies. The impact of introducing national policies on mental health, increasing funding for mental health services and increasing mental health service provision on suicide rates requires further examination in longitudinal within-country studies.