Preventing Suicides

An article in the Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry discusses effective suicide prevention strategies. Deaths by suicide, the leading cause of non-accidental death among youth in Canada, outnumber all deaths by diseases of the heart, lungs, kidney, gastrointestinal system and cancer combined. Unquestionably, this is a serious threat to public health and to the human capital of our nation; however, effective strategies to address this menace have been elusive. The quest for efficacious initiatives is not only compelling, but is expected in a society that values the young and invests in its future. We need programs that are creative and appealing, yet, more importantly, that provide clear benefit and absence of harm.

For the abstract