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#Suicideprevention efforts may need to account for #ethnicity because of variation across underrepresented groups, according to results of an observational cohort study published in Lancet Psychiatry.

“Over the past 2 decades, we have seen the introduction of the national #suicideprevention strategy and major policy initiatives to improve #mentalhealthcare provision,” Isabelle M Hunt, PhD, of the Centre for #MentalHealth and Safety at the University of Manchester in the U.K., and colleagues wrote. “However, regarding #mentalhealthcare for #minority #ethnic #patients, we still do not know whether services are fit for purpose, yet knowledge of the relative risks of #suicide and the characteristics of #minority #ethnic #patients who have died by #suicide could inform preventative efforts.”

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#JamesDonaldson notes:

Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.

Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.

Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle

The investigators sought to assess #suicide rates among #psychiatric #patients from underrepresented #ethnic groups and outline their social and clinical characteristics. They analyzed data of those who died by #suicide within 12 months of #mentalhealthservice contact between 2007 and 2018, with data collection occurring for the National Confidential Inquiry into #Suicide and Safety in #MentalHealth. They compared #suicide rates and standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of 698 South #Asian, #Black #African, #Black Caribbean and #Chinese #patients (69% #men; mean age, 41 years) with those of 13,567 white #patients (66.6% men; mean age, 48 years).

Results showed lower #suicide rates and SMRs among #patients from underrepresented #ethnic groups compared with white #patients per 100,000 population. Between #ethnic groups, #Black Caribbean #patients (1.89 deaths per 100,000 population) had higher #suicide rates, and South #Asian #patients (1.49 deaths per 100,000 population) had lower #suicide rates. White #patients had an increase in rates between 2007 and 2012, followed by a decrease, but other #ethnic groups had no change. #Black African #patients (54%) and Black Caribbean #patients (44%) had higher rates of #schizophrenia, whereas South #Asian #patients (41%) had higher rates of affective disorder. #Patients from underrepresented #ethnic groups overall exhibited markers of social adversity and received higher intensity care; however, clinicians viewed them as lower risk than white #patients.

“The important social and clinical differences we found between #minority #ethnic groups highlights that the one size fits all approach by #mentalhealthservices might not be fit for purpose,” Hunt and colleagues wrote. “Care needs to be better tailored to meet the needs of individual #minority #ethnic #patients, and approaches to prevention should not treat #minority #ethnic #patients as homogenous groups.”

In a related editorial, Phoebe Barnett, of the research department of clinical, educational and health #psychology at the University College London, outlined a possible goal for #mentalhealthservices related to bias reduction.

“#Mentalhealthservices should work towards establishing a means of assessing the need for care that limits potentially implicit biases and ensures that adequate care is readily accessible and provided promptly and in the least restrictive means possible,” Barnett wrote.

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