News of suicides appears steadily, and reports about famous people killing themselves in particular often send shock waves through society. I wonder if the public has noticed any difference in the way these reports have been handled over the last couple of years compared with five or 10 years ago. In the last couple of years, journalists have added analyses and suggestions from experts and other information to their reports.
The same principle that is valid for information about other health education issues also holds true for suicide prevention. The best and most efficient way to disseminate it is not through producing huge amounts of printed matter or by purchasing airtime on TV or the radio, but rather through finding ways to turn it into information that citizens can access any time they want, making it a part of everyday life. Over the past few years, the media have become partners of the government and experts in the suicide prevention effort. This is a great leap forward for both the media and our society, and the fruit of the labors of experts and government officials at every level.
Following the 921 earthquake in 1999, I participated in the post-disaster psychological rehabilitation and suicide prevention process. Within a week of the quake, the Department of Health (DOH) had set up 22 psychologist teams in the immediate disaster area. In June the following year, two community centers for psychological care were set up, in Taichung and Nantou.
Before the earthquake struck, the suicide rate in Nantou County was already one of the highest in Taiwan. In 1999, 16.7 people per 100,000 committed suicide, and two years after the earthquake that figure had risen to 22.9 per 100,000. But since the suicide prevention network (自殺防治關懷網) began to operate, the figures have fallen every year, declining to 17.9 per 100,000 last year.
Contrary to what some critics have said, the staff do not sit around in air-conditioned offices. They visit each of the 500 referred cases of attempted suicide they accept each year, and arrange referrals so people can gain access social and economic resources. The health bureaus, public health nurses, social workers, home-support centers, education bureaus, schools, village and borough heads, agricultural bureaus, labor bureaus, civil and religious organizations, and the media that are part of the network have held more than 1,100 meetings in communities and schools over the past five years. They have checked the psychological health of more than 50,000 people.
Just like many other people and civic organizations in this line of work, I often complain that the government offers too few resources, that many budget proposals are cut and that reviews are too slow, all sources of great concern among those of us working at the grassroots level. But looking back, we can see that prior to the 921 earthquake, the focus was on treating patients with severe mental problems. After the earthquake, however, the government and health experts have placed a greater focus on trauma psychology and suicide prevention.
I often think that rather than complaining, we should highlight the bright spots within our community. As resources will always be in short supply, we should decide the best way to use the resources we do have. The fact that the financially strapped government has been able to pay attention to suicide and psychological health issues is a great leap forward. But suicide prevention cannot rely on experts alone, it requires everyone to get involved. The most important thing is for each of us show those near and dear to us that we care.
Cheng Juo-se is the vice president of Bali Mental Hospital in Taipei County.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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