Innovative Prospects for Suicide Prevention and Action Opportunities for the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Government of Canada

Responsibility for suicide prevention falls to the Government of Canada and Health Canada. The issue of suicide affects Canadians of all ages and in all regions of the country, hence the need for a pan-Canadian strategy aimed at reducing suicide deaths and reaching all Canadians. The availability and accessibility of mental health services constitute important resources for suicide prevention and a target for interventions that can be made to rapidly reduce the suicide rate. Such a strategy to improve services should include quality surveillance and quality control programs, such as suicide audits and the use of linked government administrative databases. Population-based strategies to prevent and treat depression must also be established and should be based on the Nuremberg model. In particular, development of equitable access to psychotherapy and mental health literacy programs should be priority goals.

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Suicidal Ideation and Predictors of Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eswatini: A Population-Based Household Telephone Survey

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18136700 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

pp. 6700

Author(s):

Mduduzi Colani Shongwe ◽

Song-Lih Huang

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Suicidal Ideation ◽

Telephone Survey ◽

Population Based ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Psychological Distress Scale ◽

The Government ◽

Distress Scale

The unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic can induce psychological distress in individuals. We investigated perceived stressors, prevalence of psychological distress and suicidal ideation, and predictors of psychological distress among adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini. This study was a cross-sectional, population-based household telephone survey of 993 conveniently sampled adults (18+ years) from all the four administrative regions of Eswatini. Data were collected between 9 June and 18 July 2020 during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the country was under a partial lockdown. COVID-19-related psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6-item Psychological Distress Scale (K6). We performed weighted modified Poisson regression analyses to identify significant predictors of moderate/severe psychological distress (K6 scores: ≥5). The weighted prevalences of moderate (K6 scores: 5–12) and severe psychological distress (K6 scores: ≥13) were 41.7% and 5.4%, respectively. Participants reported several perceived COVID-19-related stressors, including worries and fears of the contagion-specific death, serious need for food and money, and concerns about loss of income or business. The weighted prevalence of suicidal ideation was 1.5%. Statistically significant predictors of increased risk for moderate/severe psychological distress included living in the Hhohho and Manzini regions; feeling not well informed about COVID-19; feeling lonely; having received COVID-19 food or financial relief from the government; feeling burdened by the lockdown; being married; and being youth (18–24 years). The results call for the government to urgently augment the provision of mental health services during the pandemic. Mental health practitioners and programs may use several stressors and risk factors identified in this study to inform interventions and government policies aimed at reducing psychological distress induced by the pandemic.

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The War Against Public Forgetfulness:Commemorating 1812 in Canada

London Journal of Canadian Studies ◽

10.14324/111.444.ljcs.2014v29.005 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Eamon

Keyword(s):

War Of 1812 ◽

The Political ◽

Critical Perspective ◽

Departure Point ◽

The Public ◽

The Government ◽

Government Of Canada ◽

Selection Of ◽

Political Battle

In October 2011, the Government of Canada began a two-year, nation-wide celebration of the bicentenary of the War of 1812. The widely-criticized initiative returned the public eye to a traditional ‘interpretive tableau’ of war heroes, namely Isaac Brock, Tecumseh, Charles de Salaberry and Laura Secord. While the scope and expense of the federal government’s efforts have been unprecedented, the political battle to maintain certain memories of the War is one that is not new. A struggle against the forgetfulness of Canadians, and particularly young Canadians, has animated commemorations of the War for almost two centuries. Looking at a selection of past commemorative efforts this essay explores how the inertia of a traditional tableau of heroes has tended to overshadow other narratives and newer interpretations. Yet all is not lost. Using the example of the author’s exhibition, Faces of 1812, it is suggested that publicly-constructed histories can be employed as a useful departure point for the public historian and provide a foundation from which the public can obtain a broader, more critical perspective on both the commemorated events and history writ large.

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MASS THERAPEUTIC EDUCATION FOR MONITORING SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR IN COMMUNITY

Journal of Psychiatry Psychology and Behavioral Research ◽

10.21776/ub.jppbr.2021.001.01.5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 16-19

Author(s):

Fadhillah Sofyan ◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Early Detection ◽

Suicide Prevention ◽

Suicidal Behavior ◽

Therapeutic Education ◽

Health Conditions ◽

The Public ◽

Suicidal Ideas ◽

The Impact

Background: Suicide is a worrying problem in Indonesia because of increase in case reported. There has been an increase in suicide rates both globally and in Indonesia. The negative stigma, lack of education, and lack of understanding of the role of the community make it difficult to reduce the number of suicides. This study aims to discuss mass therapeutic education for monitoring suicidal behavior in community. Method: Researchers used 15 journals and literature that discuss the impact and vulnerability of distance learning on students' mental health conditions. Conclusion: The role of society in reducing the suicide rate is very much needed. The community can help make early detection of suicide. Society can help prevent suicidal ideas from arising in those around them. The public can provide information to the authorities and give advice for suicide perpetrators to visit a health center. The role of the community can be integrated in a structured and neat system that can make suicide prevention efforts become optimal.

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The new Mental Disorder Tribunal

International Journal of Mental Health and Capacity Law ◽

10.19164/ijmhcl.v0i3.300 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 29

Author(s):

Mark Mullins

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Disorder ◽

Fundamental Principle ◽

Green Paper ◽

Final Report ◽

Expert Committee ◽

Committee Report ◽

The Public ◽

Mental Health Act ◽

The Government

<p>In its final report the Expert Committee on reform of the Mental Health Act 1983 chaired by Professor Genevra Richardson proposed a new Mental Disorder Tribunal. This tribunal would have fundamentally different functions, composition, procedure and powers to the present Mental Health Review Tribunals (MHRTs). The Committee’s objective was not merely to repair the failings of the present MHRT system but to replace it with a new structure promoting the principles of patient autonomy and non-discrimination. Reading the Committee report and the Government’s Green Paper proposals in response together it soon becomes clear that the Government has rejected the recommendation that the new mental health law should be based on principles of autonomy and nondiscrimination. In their place the Green Paper puts “safety” and “risk”. While it will incorporate safeguards to ensure compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998, the “dual aims” of the new Mental Health Act are to be to ensure the health and safety of patients and safety of the public. Whereas the Committee saw the new tribunal as an active guarantor and promoter of individual rights the Green Paper recasts it as a body preoccupied with risk and safety, stating as a fundamental “principle” that: “Issues relating to the safety of the individual patient and of the public are of key importance in determining the question of whether compulsory powers should be imposed”</p>

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Trust local knowledge

Policy Quarterly ◽

10.26686/pq.v16i2.6473 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Sally Hett

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Public Sector ◽

Young People ◽

Local Knowledge ◽

Social Impact ◽

Risk Averse ◽

The Public ◽

The Social ◽

The Government

I was excited. When I started working I was excited about the social impact mandate inherent in the public sector – how good! Then, as my work led me into the depths of the public sector’s limitations, I was swallowed by despair. As an advisor on the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction I was a sponge to the pain of the country. I heard the pain in young people, solo mothers, whänau, refugees of not being heard, seen or supported. The reality of slow, siloed, under-resourced and overly risk-averse agencies was undeniable.

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Simulating public interest: the issue of the public voice in the fee-for-carriage debate

10.32920/ryerson.14661636.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Patricia Williams

Keyword(s):

Policy Process ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Media Campaigns ◽

The Public ◽

Public Hearings ◽

The Media ◽

The Government ◽

Government Of Canada ◽

Severe Degree ◽

The Impact

"One of the most fractious Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, or the Commission) policy hearings on record has recently come to a close. This was no run-of-the-mill, watch-the-paint-dry policy hearing. Tempers and passions flared as two industry titans, over-the-air (OTA) broadcasters, such as CTV and Canwest Global, and broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) such as Shaw Communications, Bell Canada and Rogers Inc. fought the battle of their lives over an issue called fee-for-carriage (FFC). The media covered the issues day in and day out. Canadians bombarded the CRTC with dose to 200,000 comments and the Government of Canada forced the CRTC to hold an additional hearing just to address the impact the decision could have on the public. With extensive media coverage and uncharacteristically active public participation, could this public policy process be deemed 'democracy in action'? This paper will argue that this is not the case. Through a discourse analysis of the debate within two distinctly differentiated public spheres -- 1) the battling media campaigns and 2) the CRTC public hearings in November and December of 2009 -- this paper will show that the public's ability to define its own interest, using its own voice, is tarnished to such a severe degree that this policy process fails"--From Introduction (page 3).

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The Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System: A model for collaborative surveillance

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v3i3.433 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lisa Lix ◽

James Ayles ◽

Sharon Bartholomew ◽

Charmaine Cooke ◽

Joellyn Ellison ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Disease ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Disease Surveillance ◽

Health Agency ◽

Population Based ◽

Population Characteristics ◽

Administrative Databases ◽

Distributed Model ◽

Case Definitions ◽

Disease Surveillance System

Chronic diseases have a major impact on populations and healthcare systems worldwide. Administrative health data are an ideal resource for chronic disease surveillance because they are population-based and routinely collected. For multi-jurisdictional surveillance, a distributed model is advantageous because it does not require individual-level data to be shared across jurisdictional boundaries. Our objective is to describe the process, structure, benefits, and challenges of a distributed model for chronic disease surveillance across all Canadian provinces and territories (P/Ts) using linked administrative data. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) established the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System (CCDSS) in 2009 to facilitate standardized, national estimates of chronic disease prevalence, incidence, and outcomes. The CCDSS primarily relies on linked health insurance registration files, physician billing claims, and hospital discharge abstracts. Standardized case definitions and common analytic protocols are applied to the data for each P/T; aggregate data are shared with PHAC and summarized for reports and open access data initiatives. Advantages of this distributed model include: it uses the rich data resources available in all P/Ts; it supports chronic disease surveillance capacity building in all P/Ts; and changes in surveillance methodology can be easily developed by PHAC and implemented by the P/Ts. However, there are challenges: heterogeneity in administrative databases across jurisdictions and changes in data quality over time threaten the production of standardized disease estimates; a limited set of databases are common to all P/Ts, which hinders potential CCDSS expansion; and there is a need to balance comprehensive reporting with P/T disclosure requirements to protect privacy. The CCDSS distributed model for chronic disease surveillance has been successfully implemented and sustained by PHAC and its P/T partners. Many lessons have been learned about national surveillance involving jurisdictions that are heterogeneous with respect to healthcare databases, expertise and analytical capacity, population characteristics, and priorities.

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Good intentions and the public good

Ethnologies ◽

10.7202/1037608ar ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 36 (1-2) ◽

pp. 235-257

Author(s):

Andrea Laforet

Keyword(s):

Public Interest ◽

Aboriginal People ◽

Cultural Practice ◽

National Museum ◽

Cultural Groups ◽

The Public ◽

Intangible Heritage ◽

Contractual Agreements ◽

The Government ◽

Government Of Canada

For more than one hundred years Canada’s national museum of human history, called, successively, the National Museum of Canada, the National Museum of Man, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, and, most recently, the Canadian Museum of History, has documented and assembled a record of intangible cultural heritage relating to various cultural groups. Originally collected and currently preserved under legislative mandates resting on broad assumptions about the public interest, this material includes a substantial body of narrative, song and information relating to both past and contemporary cultural practice of societies indigenous to Canada. This paper explores the issues for concepts of nationhood, knowledge and the public interest raised by the contractual agreements, legislation on topics ranging from copyright to family law, treaty negotiations between Aboriginal people and the Government of Canada, and consultation concerning different cultural definitions of property and the sacred that affect day-to-day access to and use of Aboriginal intangible heritage in the museum. Finally, the paper explores potential issues for the continuation of this work raised by the museum’s narrowing of focus and mandate as it changes from the Canadian Museum of Civilization to the Canadian Museum of History.

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The Fragmentation of the Concept of the Refugee into Refugees and Asylum Seekers: Analysis of Recent Changes to Policy 2008 to 2013

10.32920/ryerson.14654826 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Susan Doucet

Keyword(s):

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Asylum Seekers ◽

The Public ◽

Conservative Government ◽

Policy Measures ◽

The Government ◽

Government Of Canada ◽

Humanitarian Values ◽

Restrictive Measures ◽

Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The current Conservative government of Canada has implemented considerable restrictive changes to the refugee system in Canada, leading to increased vulnerability in the lives of people seeking asylum. A fragmentation of the concept of the Refugee into “refugees” and “asylum seekers” allows the Government of Canada to implement restrictive measures while still maintaining its humanitarian reputation and appearing to uphold its responsibilities as a signatory state to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, this work examines the ways in which the Government of Canada, through press releases from Citizenship and Immigration Canada, readies the public to accept restrictive policy measures. Four discursive themes are identified: burden, humanitarian concern for “genuine” refugees, a focus on the transgressions of some asylum seekers, and a celebration of Canadian humanitarian values. Each discursive theme, and the resulting legitimizing narratives, makes use of the fragmentation of the concept of the refugee.

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A Population-Based Study of Grade 12 Academic Performance in Adolescents with Childhood-onset Chronic Rheumatic Diseases

The Journal of Rheumatology ◽

10.3899/jrheum.201514 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. jrheum.201514

Author(s):

Lily Siok Hoon Lim ◽

Okekchukwu Ekuma ◽

Ruth Ann Marrie ◽

Marni Brownell ◽

Christine Peschken ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Language Arts ◽

Rheumatic Diseases ◽

Family Income ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Population Based ◽

Administrative Databases ◽

Birth Cohorts ◽

Population Based Study ◽

Chronic Rheumatic Diseases

Objective 1) To compare grade 12 standards tests results of patients diagnosed with childhoodonset chronic rheumatic diseases (ChildCRD) and unaffected peers. 2) To identify factors associated with test results of ChildCRD patients and unaffected peers. Methods This was a population-based retrospective cohort study. All ChildCRD patients (juvenile arthritis and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases) from the only pediatric rheumatology centre in Manitoba for birth cohorts January 1979 to December 1998 were linked to the provincial administrative databases containing records of healthcare use and education outcomes Patients were matched by age, sex and postal codes to their peers who did not have ChildCRD. The primary outcomes were the grade 12 language arts achievement index (LAI) and the math achievement index (MAI) scores. ChildCRD, sociodemographic and mental health factors were tested for their associations with LAI and MAI scores using multivariable linear regression. Results 541 ChildCRD patients were matched to 2713 unaffected peers. ChildCRD patients had lower LAI and MAI scores compared to their peers. More ChildCRD patients failed or did not take the language arts (51% vs 41%, p<0.001) and maths (61% vs 55%, p=0.017) tests. On multivariable analysis, ChildCRD, lower socioeconomic status, younger maternal age at first childbirth, family income assistance, involvement with child welfare services, and mental health morbidities (between ChildCRD diagnosis and standards testing), were associated with worse LAI and MAI results. Conclusion This population-based study showed that ChildCRD patients performed less well than their peers on grade 12 standards tests results, independent of sociodemographic and mental health comorbidities.

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