A suicide research agenda for people from immigrant and refugee backgrounds

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish mental health and suicide research priorities for people from immigrant and refugee background in Australia. This article focuses on the data relevant to the development of the suicide research agenda. This study was conducted using Delphi consensus method with two rounds of online questionnaires. A total of 138 and 86 participants, respectively, completed the first and second rounds of survey. Participants were policy makers, service providers, academics, service users, and carer advocates in Australia with expertise in mental health and/or suicide among people from immigrant and refugee backgrounds. Of the total 268 research questions included in the questionnaires, 70 questions about suicide were ranked as essential by over 50% respondents (i.e., the set level of consensus). In particular, research questions regarded as the greatest priority related to access and engagement with suicide prevention services, suicide protective and risk factors compared to populations not from immigrant and refugee backgrounds, and culturally appropriate assessment of suicide risk.

Suicide and Self-Harm in Recent Immigrants in Ontario, Canada: A Population-Based Study

“…Thus, Ontario is an ideal setting to study heterogeneity in mental health outcomes in immigrant populations. 29 Understanding how immigration and immigration-related factors are associated with suicide and self-harm risk has been recognized as a research priority 30 and is important for optimizing health service delivery and immigrant settlement supports. The objectives of this study were to estimate the rates of suicide and self-harm among adult recent immigrants compared to long-term residents of Canada and to determine which immigrant-specific risk factors are associated with suicide and self-harm.…”

Spirituality and Wellbeing in the Context of a Study on Suicide Prevention in North India

“…In conclusion, because of its generally positive link with wellbeing and positive emotions and coping strategies, spirituality/religion should be regularly included in an (holistic) approach to mental health and suicide prevention, instead of being generally neglected, as argued over a decade ago by Colucci (2008) and Colucci and Martin (2008). However, further research is needed to understand the role that spirituality (religious and not) plays in relation to suicidal behavior in multicultural contexts, as was also recommended in a recent suicide research agenda (Colucci et al 2017).…”

Suicide first aid guidelines for assisting persons from immigrant or refugee background: a Delphi study

“…Suicide rates vary between countries and across different cultural groups (Colucci, 2006;Colucci & Lester, 2013;WHO, 2014). As noted in a recently published suicide research agenda (Colucci, Too, & Minas, 2017), suicide research on ethnic minorities is scarce, however existing evidence indicates that, in general, suicide rates in people from immigrant and refugee backgrounds tend to reflect the rates of their home countries (Pavlovic & Marusic, 2001).…”