A community approach on suicide prevention

With the aim to inculcate among students the consciousness of suicide prevention, the Faculty of Arts and Social Science’s (FAS) Department of Psychology and Counselling successfully organised a talk titled “A Community Based Approach for Suicide Prevention: Hong Kong Experience” at Kampar Campus on 28 July 2016.

Delivered by Prof Yip Siu Fai, the Director of the Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong, the one-hour talk served as a call to action to individuals to prevent suicide. It hoped to raise awareness about mental health issues, suicidal behavior and thoughts, and encouraged people to reach out to struggling individuals.  

Prof Yip delivering his talk

Prof Yip said in his talk which was attended by more than 200 participants, “Suicide has become a major public health issue throughout the world. About a million people kill themselves every year, and more than half of these cases occur in Asia. It is estimated that about 2.5 percent of disabilities and early deaths are due to suicide and deliberate self-harm.”

He added, “Suicide is a global public health problem, particularly in Asia due to its large population size, relatively high suicide rate among the affluent, and limited knowledge of suicide prevention. Suicide has conventionally been regarded as an issue that is addressed primarily through clinical involvement, especially by providing services for the treatment of depression and other mental illnesses. However, it has been proposed that the role of mental illness in suicide risk is not as significant as was believed, especially in the East.”

Prof Yip and his research group found that approximately two-thirds of people who commit suicide did not receive any specialist psychiatric care in the year before their deaths. Therefore, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and many national suicide prevention strategies have suggested a public health approach for suicide prevention, rather than treating it as a medical problem only.

He also explained that the public health approach involves three layers of involvement: universal, selective, and indicated. “The public health approach recognises the significance of both high-risk and population-based strategies for suicide prevention, and it needs a multi-sector effort to overcome the problem at various levels, namely in the community (universal approaches), among specific population subgroups (selective approaches), and among those at particularly high risk of suicidal behavior (indicate approaches). The public health approach is especially apt for suicide prevention in Asia where mental health services are not well developed and awareness and services for depression and mental illness in the community remain inadequate,” he concluded.

Also present at the talk were FAS Deputy Dean for R&D and Postgraduate Programmes Dr Kok Jin Kuan, FAS Head of the Department of Psychology V. Glory Nancy, academics, staff, and students.

Dr Kok said, “This talk is indeed a good platform for staff and students to learn the roles of the public health approach to preventing suicidal behavior among younger generations. If the general public, including UTAR staff and students, understand that suicide and suicidal behavior can be prevented and people are made aware of the roles individuals and groups can play in prevention, many lives can be saved.” 

Prof Yip is a Professor at the Department of Social Work and Administration of the University of Hong Kong. His research interest focuses on suicide research, prevention, demography, and biostatistics; and population health studies.

Prof Yip also holds various positions at NGOs and charity organisations, such as the Chair of Research Committee Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (2009-present), the Vice-President of the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP) (2009-present), the Vice-Chair Home-school of Committee of the Education Bureau of the Hong Kong SAR (2009-present), sitting on the Disciplinary Panel A of Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Hong Kong SAR (2012-present), sitting on the Board of Governors for Suicide Prevention Service (2006-present), and Part-time Member of Central Policy Unit of Hong Kong SAR (2009-2010).

The talk concluded with a question and answer session whereby members of the audience posed their questions to Prof Yip. Apart from a lively Q&A session, the talk ended with some meaningful interaction and sharing amongst the academics.

Prof Yip (pink shirt) posing with academics