Suicide and Its Prevention Among Youth

There is about one suicide occurring every 40 seconds across globe. The most vulnerable & affected age group is between 15-29years. 75% of suicides occur in low & middle income countries. The Suicide is a major public & mental health problem which demands urgent action. WHO (2019) reported that despite progress in national prevention strategies, one person dies by suicide every 40seconds. WHO (2019) further reported suicide is 2 nd leading cause of death among 15-29 yrs old, over 800000 people die by suicide every year. According to 2017 study 37.7%, 13.1% & 2.4% of the students were suffering from moderate, severe & extremely severe depression in universities. Experts say that college students are susceptible to, because this is a critical transitory period when they go from adolescence to adulthood. More than 400 students (under 18yrs) committed suicide in Delhi, India, between 2014 & 2018, a petition filed in the Supreme Court has revealed. Supreme Court has directed all Indian states to plan, design, formulate & implement health programs to prevent & reduce suicides. For a long time, mental health challenges were considered a taboo subject in India. Indian Parliament has also passed Mental Health Care Act 2017, which ensures that every person shall have the right to access mental health care & treatment from mental health services run or funded by the Government (Mental Health Care Bill 2017) Several studies reveal that suicidal behaviors are much more prevalent than what is officially reported. Poisoning, hanging, pesticides & self immolation were the methods to commit suicide. Physical & mental illness, disturbed interpersonal relationship & economic difficulties were the The participants identified several risk factors of suicide such as poor relationship issues, teenage

Author(s): Ramu Kuruba Principal, HOD, RR College of Nursing Bangalore, India

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