Crisis
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The media have a powerful influence on those at risk of suicide. Evidence linking sensational media reporting with imitative suicidal behavior continues to grow, prompting the widespread development of guidelines for media professionals on the reporting of suicide. While such guidelines have been widely implemented, only a small amount of research has addressed their use and effectiveness. ⋯ Overall, the findings of this review suggest that the guidelines can change reporting style and prevent imitative suicide, but that approaches centered on consultation, collaboration, media ownership, and training are likely to achieve the greatest success.
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Suicide clusters have commonly been documented in adolescents and young people. ⋯ There is a gap in formal evidence-based guidelines detailing appropriate postvention response strategies to suicide clusters in young people. The low-frequency nature of suicide clusters means that long-term systematic evaluation of response strategies is problematic. However, some broader suicide prevention strategies could help to inform future suicide cluster postvention responses.
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As in several other countries, inquiries after a suspected suicide in England and Wales now routinely seek to include both medico-legal and family perspectives on the character and motivations of the person who died. Little research attention, however, has been paid to the reactions of the bereaved to the coroner's verdict. ⋯ The findings have implications for coroner's practice, understanding varied responses of people bereaved by suicide, and for future research.
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The number of older adults is growing rapidly. This fact, combined with the high rates of suicide in later life, indicates that many more older adults will die by their own hands before rigorous trials can be conducted to fully understand the best approaches to prevent late life suicide. ⋯ The suggestions span a wide range and are offered for consideration by local groups preparing new interventions, as well as large scale public health care planning.