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Public Health: Suicide and Its Prevention
Introduction
Suicide is an act where people terminate their life at will. It is considered a mental health challenge and affects both families and communities in the discourse. More than 700,000 people commit suicide globally, making it the 11th largest cause of death worldwide (Knopov et al., 2019). Analyzing by age makes it the 4th leading cause of death for people between 15 and 29 (Rodrigues et al., 2019). It is imperative to note that over 77% of suicide cases are reported in middle and lower-income families, confirming a relationship between suicide rates and socioeconomic factors (Stone et al., 2021). However, some developed countries, such as the USA, also experience escalating cases of suicide among their population. Understanding the causes of suicide is key to formulating policies to overcome it and improve the Quality of life. Since suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world, the World Health Organization proposes various ways in which countries can overcome the challenges affecting people and make them safe from suicide.
Suicide Rates in the USA
Suicide is a major problem in the United States of Americas healthcare system. It is one of the wealthy nations with the highest rate of suicides in the contemporary world. The rate of deaths due to suicide has increased exponentially in the country from 2015 to date. Suicide is the 11th cause of death in the country, with a rate of 14.5 per 100,000 population (World Health Organization, 2021). The number of annual deaths by suicide is 48,183, with the majority of the deaths caused by firearms. It is prudent to note that suicide rates are affected by age, sex, and race. In the USA, men are 3.5 times more likely to die of suicide compared to females (Knopov et al., 2019). The methods of suicide and the accelerating rate show the risk factors and how they can be stopped for a better quality of life. The USA has a gun control policy that is not strict and as a result, guns fall into the wrong hands and people are always at high risk. Most of the suicides and homicides committed are done through firearms.
Risk Factors
The rising cases of suicide in the USA are attributed to different risk factors that the policy may eliminate. The Second Amendment in the USA, which allows people to have guns increases the risk factors since 50% of the reported suicides were committed using firearms (Knopov et al., 2019). Mental health contributes significantly to the suicide debates as many people think of suicide when they are either depressed or faced with anxiety. Poor mental health policies are, therefore, a major contributor to suicide. Substance and adverse childhood experiences increase the risk of suicide in the United States. Race is a risk factor as native and white Americans are more prone to suicide than other races living in the USA. The risk factors are key to the eradication of the problem because they make it possible to overcome the rate of suicides. For example, when the government realizes that college students are at risk, it becomes possible to formulate policies.
Suicide Comparison between USA and Brazil
Brazil is one of the countries in Latin America which has experienced declining suicide rates. Brazil experienced a death rate of 13 467 people due to suicide. The death rate due to obesity is 9.12 per 100,000 people compared to the higher rates in the USA. Of the 13,467 suicide deaths, women account for 3,263, while men are the most affected, with a rate of 10,203 (World Health Organization, 2021). The rate of deaths among men in Brazil is four times that of women. Therefore, more men in Brazil are at a higher risk than women. 47% of the suicides in Brazil result from hanging, while the rest result from firearms, poisoning, and other means (Stone et al., 2021). Reducing gun usage among unauthorized people helps in overcoming the challenge. Although Brazil is one of the developing countries and has fewer healthcare facilities compared to the USA, Brazil experiences lower rates of suicide and people are safer in Brazil compared to the US.
Evidence-Based Rationale for Brazils Suicide Management
The principle of universal healthcare and decentralization of mental health has helped Brazil have lower rates of suicide compared to the USA. Although Brazil ranks 70th globally in terms of the provision of healthcare services, it has adequate policies to ensure healthcare is delivered to all people (Brent, 2019). The suicide health indicator shows that Brazilians are healthier compared to Americans. Brazil has adequate policies such as zero suicide which helps the country better healthcare services compared to the USA. As the country ensures that mental health services are cheaply available, teamwork in the healthcare domain helps nurses and other healthcare practitioners to deliver a better quality of health. The successful implementation of Policies in Brazil to maintain lower suicide rates shows that every sovereign nation has the capacity to improve healthcare delivery to its citizens.
Brazils Management of Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity
The social determinants of health play a significant role in ensuring that all the people in the country enjoy a higher quality of life. In the USA, the health disparity has made it possible for the cases of suicide to escalate in the long run. Brazil has achieved a reduced suicide rate because the country analyzed the challenges facing the healthcare domain and applied critical policies to reach out to all people affected by the social determinants of health. The decentralization of mental health facilities to enable people to access counseling services and another mental health campaign would ensure that all people are served regardless of their social or economic status. As the guidance and counseling centers increase all over Brazil and the continuous national health survey takes place, the country obtains evidence on how to improve operations.
Healthcare Policies in the USA on Suicide
The United States of America considers suicide a healthcare challenge requiring policy adjustment to manage it. The Mental Care Act, ratified in 2017, was meant to reduce the suicide rate and increase the quality of life in the discourse. The increasing number of suicide effects in the USA between 2005 and 2016 forced the authorities to formulate policies to prevent suicide (Rodrigues et al., 2019). The Mental Care Act increased mental health services and enabled access to all Americans in urban and rural America. The second policy was integrating mental health with other care acts in the discourse. The policy promotes an increase in telehealth services to ensure that people can access mental care services.
The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obama Care, plays a significant role in increasing the quality of health among Americans. The act makes all people in America qualify for an insurance policy that encourages preventive care in the discourse, and mental health awareness is one of them. Appropriate changes in the policies are likely to keep people safe. For example, when insurance care is increased, peoples safety is likely to be increased in the long run.
Healthcare Policies in Brazil on Suicide
Brazil has stringent rules and policies to eradicate the chances of suicide. Since firearms are the highest cause of suicide in the country, access to firearms is limited only to people in the correct state of mind. Other than limiting the use of firearms in the country, access to mental health services has increased the treatment services for people suffering from mental health issues. Implementing the zero suicide policy helps people learn more about tackling their mental health issues and avoiding suicide. The policy fosters the interaction between people in the region to ensure a better outcome in the discourse. As the policy subdivides people according to age and helps them overcome the condition, it becomes easier to prevent the rate of suicide to improve the quality of life. By keeping firearms away from civilians and people who are mentally unstable, Brazil has been able to increase safety by lowering suicide rates.
The rationale behind Brazils Declining Suicide rates
Brazil is one of the most populous countries in South America but has managed to prevent suicide by installing appropriate policies to lower suicide rates. The policies analyzed the main cause of the situation and developed the antidote to ensure that people are deprived of the factors increasing the rate. For example, since firearms play a critical role in raising suicide rates, the prevention of people owning firearms. As firearms become scarce in the wrong hands, the rate of suicide lowers. Since mental health policies encourage early detection and prevention, the rate of suicide is likely to reduce in the long run. Brazil made policies that not only lower the rate of suicide but also discourage it since the means to it, such as firearms and poisons, are only sold to mentally stable people after adequate background checks. Any country that wishes to improve its healthcare must develop positive healthcare policies that improve their quality.
Need for New Policies in the USA
The USA has one of the most powerful healthcare frameworks in the world. Both primary care providers and facilities can prevent suicide from happening. However, the Second Amendment allows people in the country, many people have access to guns, and as lifestyle stress affects them, it becomes easier for them to end their lives (Rodrigues et al., 2019). A change in the policy is required to conduct background checks and ensure that guns are only sold to mentally stable people. At the same time, background checks can help lower 50% of the suicide deaths in the country, which are associated with firearms (Brent, 2019). Mental health promotion and increased insurance care for preventive medicine are likely to lower the cases of suicide when mental health issues are addressed promptly. When the USA changes its policies to ensure that people are always safe, it makes it possible to increase the safety of people.
Required Nursing Leadership Competencies to End the Problem
Primary care nurses are tasked with ensuring they plan and run platforms that will not only offer them a chance to save people from depression. Communication is the foremost competence because depressed people need effective communication to open up and share the issues affecting them in the discourse. Communication also helps nurse leaders contact lawmakers to pass laws that protect people from suicide (Davidson et al., 2020). Risk management is an important competence required for suicide rates to be lowered in the discourse. Knowledge of medication is a core competence that helps leaders tackle the challenges of suicide in the country and lower their prevalence. The leadership competencies make it possible for people to overcome suicide risk factors hence making them safe at all times.
Diversity is a key component required for the nurse to perform better in the discourse. Formal and informal leadership skills are required to ensure that effective programs are run to prevent suicide prevalence. For example, as people interact with members of society, training them and developing their employees to perform better in the long run (Rodrigues et al., 2019). The ability to inspire and motivate others is a key competence to ensure that the role of the leader gets a better result. Collaboration and the promotion of teamwork are nursing leadership competencies that are key to determining the causes of suicide and guiding the team toward improving awareness. Problem-solving, honesty, and integrity are key issues to seeking out the suicide challenge in the discourse.
Advocating for Change to Lower Suicide Rates
Change advocacy is key to reducing the prevalence of suicide in the USA. Whenever the right changes are instilled in a society, it becomes possible to lower the rate of suicide and improve the quality of life in the discourse. Research and development is the key change to ensure that the root causes of suicide are determined for better policy formulation to improve quality outcomes (Rodrigues et al., 2019). Funding the suicide prevention mission is an antidote to ensure that technicians are trained to work with society leaders to educate people on ways of preventing suicide in their homes and places of work (Brent, 2019). Mental health awareness is key to improving the quality of life by lowering the suicide rate. The gun control advocacy worked in Brazil, and the rate was reduced. The USA must also complete the discussion on background checks in gun control.
Universal education and health promotion are key to ensuring that people understand the causes of suicide in families and its impacts. As people access mental health issues, it becomes possible for them to be saved from committing suicide as they will have a platform to improve healthcare coverage (Davidson et al., 2020). As mental health departments are revamped and integrated with primary healthcare, they will likely perform better in the discourse. The introduction of mental health lessons in the education curriculum ensures people are aware of the causes of suicide and the best way to overcome the challenges. Counseling and mental health issues must be incorporated into the community welfare for a better outcome.
Platforms to Manage Change in Suicide Reduction
Healthcare providers can use numerous platforms to reach society and lower the rate of suicide for an improved quality of life. The foremost platform is social media and telehealth to reach out to many people in the country and educate them on the importance of overcoming suicidal thoughts for better outcomes. Once social media platforms are filled with anti-suicide campaigns, people can learn how to avoid it and improve their quality of life by avoiding suicide in the discourse (World Health Organization, 2021). As primary care providers work hard to improve health in society, it is important to collaborate with local authorities and religious groups to improve the quality of life in the discourse.
Conclusion
Suicide cases are rising in the USA despite being a wealthy and developed nation. Although Brazil is less developed compared to it, it has managed to maintain lower rates of suicide. The increasing rate of suicide in the USA has jeopardized the quality of life, and urgent change must be initiated to keep people safe. The data analysis shows that men are at a higher risk than women, and policies must be enacted to ensure people are safe. One of the key causes of the high suicide rate is the Second Amendment which allows Americans to own firearms, and as they are in the wrong hands, it becomes easier for people to hurt themselves. Other than policy changes, healthcare leadership is key to offering solutions to the increasing cases of suicide nationally.
References
Brent, D. A. (2019). Master clinician review: Saving Holden Caulfield: Suicide prevention in children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(1), 25-35. Web.
Davidson, J. E., Accardi, R., Sanchez, C., Zisook, S., & Hoffman, L. A. (2020). Sustainability and outcomes of a suicide prevention program for nurses. Worldviews on EvidenceBased Nursing, 17(1), 24-31. Web.
Knopov, A., Sherman, R. J., Raifman, J. R., Larson, E., & Siegel, M. B. (2019). Household gun ownership and youth suicide rates at the state level, 20052015. American journal of preventive medicine, 56(3), 335-342. Web.
Rodrigues, C. D., de Souza, D. S., Rodrigues, H. M., & Konstantyner, T. C. (2019). Trends in suicide rates in Brazil from 1997 to 2015. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, 41, 380-388. Web.
Stone, D. M., Jones, C. M., & Mack, K. A. (2021). Changes in suicide ratesUnited States, 20182019. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(8), 261-267. Web.
World Health Organization. (2021). Suicide worldwide in 2019: global health estimates. [PDF Document]. Web.
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