Förslag till nationellt program för suicidprevention, 969 kB - Statens ...

12 förslag till nationellt program för suicidprevention
Formulating a national goal
Suicide can be perceived as injuries for which only the individual is responsible. An alternative
approach is to consider suicide as a consequence of multiple factors over which the
individual seldom has control. The latter perspective has been very successfully applied in
the field of injury prevention.
It is often warranted to prevent injuries caused by accidents. However, suicide prevention
is not a matter of course since suicide can be viewed as someone’s self-determined choice to
end his or her own life. Suicide prevention infringes on a central value, namely people’s
right to self-determination. If suicide is prevented, however, other values are promoted.
A few years after an attempted suicide, most people state that they do want to live.
Therefore, suicide can be perceived as a “psychological mistake”. This indicates that the
individual’s long-term welfare is promoted by suicide prevention efforts. The individual’s
right to self-determination is restricted over the short term, but his or her welfare is promoted
over the long term. Measures can be justified only if they violate the right to self-determination
to a limited degree.
Proposed measure
Sweden sets up a goal of reducing the number of suicides.
Follow-up indicators
Incidence of suicide per 100,000 inhabitants.
Taking steps that promote good life opportunities for less advantaged groups
Less advantaged groups of people have an increased risk of suicide. Low income and low
levels of education are factors that increase this risk. People’s life opportunities and life
circumstances thus have an important role to play in suicide. The opportunities of the least
advantaged groups are better in a society with small social differences. Therefore, from a
suicide prevention perspective it is important to strive for a society with small social differences.
The design of general policies can contribute to creating such a society.
In order to promote the life opportunities of disadvantaged groups, young people
should be provided positive conditions to develop their skills. There are strong relations
between intellectual, social and emotional skills on one hand and mental health on the
other hand. Skills are developed during childhood through genetic conditions and environmental
factors in interaction. Pre-school, school and leisure activities that are optimised to
promote such development have good possibilities of reducing poor mental health early in
life and consequently also preventing suicide. The least socially advantaged groups are in a
particularly good position to benefit from such measures. It is therefore important to reinforce
systematic quality improvement efforts in pre-schools and schools, which is also in
line with the goals for the development of the Swedish school system.