Prevention of suicidal behavior

Abstract

[Overview]. The Mental Health and Substance Use Unit of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), in conjunction with the Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, a PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center, produced this publication, which is based on the presentations made in Mexico during the regional workshop on the prevention of suicide. This report was conceived as a practical tool that provides essential information to better understand suicidal behavior and the main strategies to combat it, from registry to the evaluation of interventions, taking into account the approaches already under way in the Region. The contents have been organized for easy reading, beginning with a worldwide overview of suicide from WHO’s perspective. This is followed by a summary of the PAHO/WHO report Suicide Mortality in the Americas and subsequent reports from Central America, Chile, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the Associated State of Puerto Rico. Next come chapters on several topics concerning suicidal behavior, such as religion and spirituality, substance use, and the role of personality in the treatment and prevention of suicide among adolescents. The closing chapter, authored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, discusses problems and strategies related to the methodological components of suicide prevention programs...