Hon Peter Dunne: Suicide rates continue to decline
17 December 2009
Suicide rates declined to 11.0 suicides per 100,000 people in 2007, the lowest rate since 1985 and a continuation of a downward trend over the past decade, Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne announced today.
Suicide Facts 2007 (http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/suicide-facts-deaths-2007-dec09) the Ministry of Health’s annual publication of suicide and intentional self-harm hospitalisation data, showed that 483 people died by suicide in 2007, compared with 526 in 2006. The latest data represented a 27.3 percent drop from the peak rate of 15.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 1998.
Mr Dunne said the decline by over a quarter in the past decade was good news, and has occurred alongside a drop in intentional self-harm hospitalisation rates, which fell by 23.5 percent since 1998.
“This is a positive outcome that represents several years of hard work” he said.
He cited cross-government efforts to reduce suicide rates following the peak in rates, particularly amongst youth, in the late 1990s. This included the New Zealand Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy released in 1998, which led to many new activities to prevent suicide. This has been followed up with the all-ages New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy and its Action Plan, released in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
“While we can be pleased with the result, we can’t be complacent – too many people are devastated by the tragic loss of a loved one to suicide in New Zealand,” he said.
Mr Dunne suggested sustained effort across a range of services is essential to continue and extend the good work achieved so far.
“The all-ages Strategy and its Action Plan provide the direction and focus for more and better services to ensure this happens”.
Some population groups continue to be more affected by suicide than others, which Minister Dunne described as concerning. “While the Māori rate in 2007 is almost 20 percent lower when compared to the late 1990s, non-Māori have made more consistent gains with a greater decline. This disparity needs to be a focus of our efforts”
The Suicide Facts 2007 report also showed that:
• there were 2679 intentional self-harm hospitalsations, excluding short stays in emergency departments
• the youth suicide rate declined by 46.6 per cent since its peak rate in 1995
• the Maori suicide rate has been volatile over time, but in 2007 it was 19.1 percent lower than its peak rate in 1998
• males continued to have a significantly higher rate of suicide than females, at 17.4 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 4.9 female deaths per 100,000 population. The ratio of male to female suicides was 3.6 to 1
• the Maori rate remained significantly higher than the non-Maori rate, at 16.1 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 9.9 non-Māori deaths per 100,000 population
• the age group with the highest total suicide rate was 35-39 years old (19.4 per 100,000 population). For males, the highest rate was in the 30-34 age group (33.9 per 100,000) while for females the highest rate was in the 40-44 age group (10.3 per 100,000)
• the rate for those living in the most deprived areas was almost double the rate in least deprived areas, at 13.3 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 7.7 deaths per 100,000 population.
A number of suicide prevention initiatives are being implemented to continue suicide prevention efforts. Priorities for the next year include:
• supporting primary care and improving early intervention of mental health problems by, for example, extending the National Depression Initiative which includes online and telephone support services
• continuing to offer primary mental health services for patients presenting in primary care
• providing services to those who have made a suicide attempt and those bereaved by suicide by, for example, evaluating the effectiveness of promising interventions for these populations
• supporting Maori communities through a range of initiatives, such as the Kia Piki te Ora community development initiatives, which aim to improve
co-ordination of suicide prevention services; the implementation of Te Whakauruora, the new Maori suicide prevention resource launched in September this year; and the whānau assistance programme to improve access to quality education, employment, health services and housing opportunities
• supporting schools to prevent suicide and respond safely when there is a suicide through updating and implementing school suicide prevention guidelines and the traumatic incidents response manual which includes a range of new resources.
Ends
Mark Stewart | Press Secretary | Office of Hon Peter Dunne
Cell +64 21 243 6985 |
Questions and Answers:
1. What is being done to prevent self-harm and suicide?
There are multiple causes of suicidal behaviours and their prevention requires multiple interventions across a range of sectors. The New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006-2016 (“the Strategy”) provides a framework to guide New Zealand’s suicide prevention activities, and the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2008-2012 (“the Action Plan”) describes how the goals of the Strategy will be achieved, when and by whom.
In line with the various goals of the Strategy and corresponding Action Plan, the following are some of the key suicide prevention initiatives currently underway:
• Supporting primary care providers in recognising, assessing and managing those at risk of suicide through the implementation of the guideline Identification of Common Mental Disorders and Management of Depression in Primary Care
• Increasing community understanding about depression, encouraging help-seeking, appropriate treatment and recovery and providing on-line, telephone and text support services through the National Depression Initiative (most well known for the depression advertisements featuring former All Black John Kirwan) www.depression.org.nz and www.thelowdown.org.nz
• Improving the care and follow-up of people who have made a suicide attempt by supporting district health boards (DHBs) to implement suicide prevention guidelines for emergency departments and mental health services
• Evaluating the effectiveness of promising interventions for people who have made a suicide attempt, both for the general population and developing a culturally informed intervention specifically for Māori
• Evaluating the effectiveness of delivering co-ordinated, synchronized and multiple-level suicide prevention initiatives within a defined local region
• Providing support to those bereaved by suicide and communities whereby there may be suicide contagion through the Postvention Support Initiative
• Reducing the risk of suicide for young people in Child, Youth and Family care through improving comprehensive risk screening and risk management planning (“the Towards Wellbeing Project”)
• Improving quality and co-ordination of suicide prevention activities within DHB regions through piloting suicide prevention coordinator positions in five DHBs (Auckland, Lakes, Counties Manukau, Wairarapa, and Nelson-Marlborough)
• Providing accessible and reliable information about safe and effective suicide prevention activities through Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (SPINZ) www.spinz.co.nz
• Co-ordinating suicide prevention services in Māori communities through the Kia Piki te Ora community development initiatives
• Building resilience and enhancing connections for young people experiencing emotional distress or life-changing events with the Skylight youth resilience programme (“Travellers”)
• Building up the New Zealand research base through a comprehensive suicide prevention research programme with a focus on trialing and evaluating promising interventions.
2. Where can I go for more information about suicide prevention?
Information about suicide and its prevention are available on the websites of Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (SPINZ) (www.spinz.org.nz) and the Ministry of Health (www.moh.govt.nz/suicideprevention).
3. What should I do if I’m concerned someone may be suicidal?
If you are concerned about someone who may be suicidal, intentionally harming themselves, or very distressed, you can approach the following services for advice:
• primary health care professional or general practitioner (GP)
• community mental health service
• Māori community health service
• counselling services
• helplines such as the Depression Helpline (0800 111 757), Lifeline (0800 111 777), Samaritans (0800 726 666) or Youthline (0800 376 633)
• web-based services: www.depression.org.nz and the Lowdown (for young people) www.thelowdown.co.nz
In an emergency you should:
• ring 111 and ask for an ambulance, or
• contact the nearest hospital or psychiatric emergency service/mental health crisis assessment team
• remain with the person until appropriate support arrives
• remove any obvious means of suicide (guns, medication, cars, knives, rope, etc)
Note: There is evidence that some types of reporting of suicidal behaviour can result in an increase in suicides. Please refer to the Ministry of Health booklet Suicide and The Media: The Reporting and Portrayal of Suicide in the Media. A Resource (www.moh.govt.nz/suicideprevention).
Further information or comment
Additional information or comment about suicide it’s prevention can be obtained from Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (SPINZ; www.spinz.co.nz) by contacting Merryn Statham, SPINZ Director, 021 646 312, and from Dr Sunny Collings (University of Otago) on 04 385 5999 extension 6040.
ENDS
Suicide Facts: Deaths and Intentional Self-Harm Hospitalisations 2007 is available on the Ministry of Health website: http://www.moh.govt.nz