School Based Suicide Prevention Programmes -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The School Based Suicide Prevention Programmes? Answer: Introducation Incidents of teenage suicide among Singapore citizens have grabbed significant attention in recent times, entailing the urgent implementation of preventive strategies. The social factors that contribute to increased suicidal tendencies among teenagers in the country are to be addressed adequately if a positive change is to be brought about at the earliest. The present essay discusses how a national wide campaign could be implemented for the promotion of awareness of suicide risk factors among teenagers in Singapore. The paper would also address factors in society that contribute to the increased risk of suicide among the selected population in the country. The suicide rate is an important marker of the health of a nation. It is a notable cause of mortality in youth and adolescents, and it has been noted that suicide has peak prevalence in adolescence in a number of countries. Suicide among teenagers poses a great burden to individuals, their families and society (Chen et al., 2011). The teenage suicide rate in Singapore has drawn the attention of the concerned authorities who are still struggling to find effective and apt strategies that can prevent the nursing prevalence of this issue among the population. Suicides among teenagers have become a significant element of the national healthcare agenda that points out the failure of healthcare bodies to address the concern adequately. The year 2015 saw Singapore make a record of the most number of teen suicides in one and half decade. 27 teenagers had committed suicide in the year 2015, aged between 10 and 19 years. This number was significantly high from 13 teenagers committing suicide in 2014 (Tianjie, 2016). Chia and Chia (2012) pointed out that young adults in Singapore who reach out to suicide prevention agencies cite academic pressure, mental health concerns and social relationships as the maximum source of stress. Individuals who are secretive, and suffer from issues of self-esteem and problem solving skills are at higher risk of attempting suicide. In addition to commonly known causes of stress suffered such as academic and social issues, other emerging factors also contribute to high suicide rates, including cyber bullying. Individuals suffering from mental illness are more likely to commit suicide. Having a negative influence on people both physically and psychologically, the mental health conditions are known to directly contribute to suicidal behaviour. For the past few years, the official bodies governing public health are encouraging people to fight against suicidal tendencies, but suicide prevention has been felt to be more than the creation of awareness. What is needed at th e resent hour is the right conversations about suicide. The lack of sensitivity among the public till now reflects the crucial need for the teenagers to have a better understanding of the risk factors for suicide and the turmoil it brings along. There is a pervasiveness of misconceptions regarding suicide among the society, and thus it is vital to creating a supportive environment for those who are at risk (Chia Chia, 2012). The government of Singapore in collaboration with the different noted public healthcare organisations must come forward to develop, produce and disseminate targeted, safe and effective suicide prevention awareness campaign. The key to raise awareness about the risk factors of suicide among teenagers lies in the suitable combination of national multimedia public service announcements and dissemination of suicide prevention awareness materials (Loh et al., 2012). The national campaign is to be based on five fundamental elements, drawing in from a pool of evidence available on the success of previous similar campaigns of other countries. The campaign is to be implemented following a series of five steps- evaluation of relevant data; review of risk factors of suicide; emphasis on powerful and hopeful messaging; utilisation of effective resources; and empowerment of participants with tools to communicate (Kahn Lester, 2013). The first step of the national campaign would be segmenting the audience and evaluation of suicide risk factors specific for Singapore. Segmenting the audience around age, shared values and cultural backgrounds would be crucial in the development of the campaign. Suicidal attempts, planning and thoughts have been found to be significantly higher among teenagers above the age of 15 years in Singapore. The age group of 15-28 years would be the primary target audience for this campaign. Both the genders would be given equal weight in the campaign as there are negligible differences among male and female when it comes to the suicide rate. It would be equally significant to put the focus on the nuances within the target audience (Kahn Lester, 2013). The second stage would be to review suicide awarningsigns.Extensive research is to be undertaken to highlight the signs of suicidal thoughts that are to be addressed in the first place. Knowing the differences between self-harm, suicidal behaviour and high-risk improve the outreach efforts. In the Singapore context, it has been found that mental disorders, substance abuse and life events equally contribute to suicidal tendencies. The third and successive step would be to emphasise powerful and hopeful messaging. The campaign facilitator has the key responsibility of developing a strong message that can attract the attention of the target audience and compel them to think in the direction as desired. While developing the message, it is necessary to emphasise on the hope of recovery through the messaging. The power of personal and long-standing relationships are to be highlighted in due course. One must avoid reporting that suicide has a key link with any single event. Further, suicide is not to be framed as an inexplicable or is not supposed to be normalised (Kahn Lester, 2013). The fourth and most significant step would be to utilise effective and valuable resources. Sufficient workforce who are skilled and competent would be needed for this purpose who are to exhibit collaboration and leadership (Kahn Lester, 2013). Further, sustained funding is to be made possible by government funding. In addition to finance, human resources would be a significant tangible factor for the ultimate outcome of the campaign. Most important would be however the promotional materials selected. The public service announcements would be done on radios, television, print ads, digital banner advertisements and billboards. Suicide risk factor and impact awareness materials specific for the target group are to be made in the form of posters, brochures and classroom curriculum. Billboard graphics are a good medium for reaching to the audience around the year. Brochures and posters are effective in reaching out to the audience in schools, clinics, and other community settings. Educat ional and interactive programs can be designed for schools. Print advertisement graphics are to be used for distribution to magazines, specifically teen magazines, newspapers and other print publications (Wasserman et al., 2015). Research indicates that specific materials are more effective and have been more successful in the past in other countries in reaching the target audience. Empowering the participants to understand the risk factors for suicide is essential and the last step. The overarching goal of all campaigns rests in the implementation of the plan outlined. With the audience in mind, a slogan is to e created, and outreach materials are to be made. The participants are to be empowered for speaking up and coming forward with their concerns. Further, they are to be taught to respond to the materials appropriately. Participants are also to be equipped with tools for support and help (McKenzie et al., 2016). In conclusion, by exploring the popular trend among Singapore culture to focus on multimedia public service announcements together with the exploitation of the potential of awareness materials, attention can be brought to the issue of high risk of suicide in the country. It is expected that with adequate funding from the government and employment of skilled workforce, the national campaign would be effective in spreading awareness of suicide risk factors among teenagers in Singapore. References Chen, Y. Y., Chien-Chang Wu, K., Yousuf, S., Yip, P. S. (2011). Suicide in Asia: opportunities and challenges.economics reviews,34(1), 129-144. Chia, B. H., Chia, A. (2012). Prevention of suicide in Singapore.Annals of the Academy of Medicine-Singapore,41(9), 375. Kahn, D. L., Lester, D. (2013). Efforts to decriminalize suicide in Ghana, India and Singapore.Suicidology Online,4, 96-104. Loh, C., Tai, B. C., Ng, W. Y., Chia, A., Chia, B. H. (2012). Suicide in young Singaporeans aged 1024 years between 2000 to 2004.Archives of suicide research,16(2), 174-182. McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., Thackeray, R. (2016).Planning, implementing evaluating health promotion programs: A primer. Pearson. Tianjie, W. (2016). Teen suicides highest in 15 years but overall rate falls: SOS.The Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/teen-suicides-highest-in-15-years-but-overall-rate-falls Wasserman, D., Hoven, C. W., Wasserman, C., Wall, M., management, R., Hadlaczky, G., ... Bobes, J. (2015). School-based suicide prevention programmes: the SEYLE cluster-randomised, controlled trial.The Lancet,385(9977), 1536-1544.