Crisis
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This study addressed the issue of a possible link between single-car accident drivers and suicidal intent. In the international literature this topic has generated both positive and negative results. Some authors have stressed unconscious suicidal motivations in various single accidents. ⋯ These patients had experienced more life events than controls. We conclude that, although suicide risk was low in our patients, they were engaged in looking for a solution to their problems in which the accident played a role in such a process. This behavior has some characteristics of the logic of suicidal individuals.
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Until now, suicide prevention efforts have been limited in developing countries, although there are pockets of excellent achievement. Various universal, selective, and indicated interventions have been implemented, many of which target a different pattern of risk factors to those in developed countries. In the absence of sufficient mental health services, developing countries rely heavily on nongovernment organizations (NGOs) to provide crisis interventions for suicidal individuals, as well as proactive interventions aimed at raising community awareness and building resilience. ⋯ There is a clear need to develop appropriate, relevant and effective national suicide prevention plans in developing countries, since, to date, only Sri Lanka has done so. These plans should focus on a range of priority areas, specify the actions necessary to achieve positive change in these priority areas, consider the range of collaborators required to implement these actions, and structure their efforts at national, regional, and local levels. The plans should also promote the collection of accurate data on completed and attempted suicide, and should foster evaluation efforts.
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Over the last decade an increasing number of countries have established national strategies for suicide prevention. In the autumn of 2002 the suicide prevention strategy for England was presented to the general public, introducing what could be called a second generation of national programs for suicide prevention. ⋯ Other guiding principles for this strategy are that suicide preventive measures and initiatives should be open to monitoring and evaluation, and that revisions and updates of the national strategy should be made regularly--thus constituting an evolving strategy. This paper examines the content of the new national strategy for suicide prevention in England and what new contributions to the field it may make.