Suicide prevention initiative launched

A MAJOR new EC-funded suicide prevention initiative was launched yesterday by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) in Limerick, a county with the highest rates of self harm in Ireland for the past 10 years.

The aim of the multi-level OSPI-Limerick (Optimising Suicide Prevention Programmes and their Implementation in Limerick) is to significantly reduce the rates of suicide and deliberate self harm in the county over the next three years.

The project is being carried out under the auspices of the OSPI-Europe initiative and the goal is to provide the EU member states with realistic action-based recommendations to be implemented on a regional basis to reduce suicidal behaviour. Ireland has been selected as an intervention country, along with Hungary, Portugal and Germany.

Dr Ella Arensman, director of research, NSRF, explained that the initiative would work on five different levels and provide training and awareness on depression and suicide for GPs, community facilitators such as the Garda, social workers and teachers as well as the public.

There will be specific initiatives aimed at high-risk groups, ie people who have already self harmed or attempted suicide.

“I am delighted the area of Limerick has been selected as for more than 10 years, the county has the highest rates of deliberate self harm among men and women and a very high suicide rate,” said Dr Arensman.

She pointed out that evidence had shown that interventions on one level had not been shown to reduce self harm or suicide rates at a local level.

However, one four-level project in Nuremberg resulted in a 24 per cent reduction in suicidal acts over the two-year period of the project.

“For us, this is very convincing evidence that we are always better off with multi-level prevention programmes,” Dr Arensman said.