Suicidal ideation and attempts among men who inject drugs in Delhi, India: psychological and social risk factors

Abstract

Suicide prevention interventions among this population should address not only individual mental health and addiction support needs but also the overwhelmingly poor psychosocial circumstances of this group.

Assessing the quality of media reporting of suicide news in India against World Health Organization guidelines: A content analysis study of nine major newspapers in Tamil Nadu

“…This is an unfortunate missed opportunity considering that a recent household survey in a major South Indian city found that over 50% of people believe in the myth that 'suicide happens without warning' (Poreddi et al, 2016). Similarly, few articles recognised the link between poor mental health and drug/alcohol abuse with suicidality, both major risk factors for suicide (Armstrong et al, 2014;Borges et al, 2017;Cavanagh et al, 2003;Cottler et al, 2005;Hawton and van Heeringen, 2009;Nock et al, 2008) and something that is a challenge to address in India where mental health literacy is low and stigmatising attitudes are prominent (Armstrong et al, 2011;Hofmann-Broussard et al, 2017;Shidhaye and Kermode, 2013).…”

Male-to-male sex among men who inject drugs in Delhi, India: Overlapping HIV risk behaviours

“…We used time location sampling (TLS), a recognized method for obtaining a probability-based sample from hidden populations (Karon & Wejnert, 2012;Magnani, Sabin, Saidel, & Heckathorn, 2005), and our methodological approach has been detailed in previous papers Armstrong et al, 2014). In brief, the operating hours of three NSPs were mapped and a list was constructed based on a combination of the locations (i.e.…”

Prevalence of depressive symptoms and associated factors among people who inject drugs in China

“…Improvement of the very poor mental health status among PWID has important public health implications such as adherence to methadone treatment (Gu et al, 2014c), acts of risk behaviors (Crooks et al, 2015;German and Latkin, 2012;Gu et al, 2010;Reyes et al, 2007), and HIV prevention (Conner et al, 2008;Crooks et al, 2015;Stein et al, 2003). It is also well documented that mental health problems affect other aspects of health and social well-being, such as physical health (Kolappa et al, 2013), suicidal ideation (Armstrong et al, 2014;Jin et al, 2013), and social support. The Chinese government needs to provide integrated services and support to PWID, covering their psychosocial needs.…”

“…Such problems affect individuals' social well-being and physical health (Kolappa et al, 2013). In particular, depression is a well-known antecedent of suicidal ideation among PWID (Armstrong et al, 2014;Jin et al, 2013). The prevalence of depression among PWID ranged from 25% to 84% in the USA, Canada, Australia, and India (Armstrong et al, 2013b;Callaly et al, 2001;Conner et al, 2008;Heimer et al, 2014;Mackesy-Amiti et al, 2012;Pilowsky et al, 2011;Springer, 2012;Teesson et al, 2005).…”