Bengtsson, M. En hoppfull strävan. En fallstudie om ideellt engagemang inom suicidpreventivt arbete i Sverige. Masteruppsats i Socialt Arbete, 30 högskolepoäng. Malmö Universitet: Fakulteten för hälsa och samhälle, institutionen för socialt arbete, 2023.  Denna studie tar avstamp i det nationella suicidpreventiva arbetet i Sverige och vänder sedan blicken mot de ideella organisationernas roll i frågan. Syftet är mer specifikt att analysera den ideella organisationen Minds arbete som aktör i det nationella suicidpreventiva arbetet. Genom att se till suicidprevention i landet och ta del av organisationen Minds arbete utgör denna uppsats en fallstudie av kvalitativ sort till sin karaktär, något som möjliggör att fokusera på en enda organisation. Det teoretiska ramverket för denna studie utgörs av interaktiv samhällsstyrning och altruism, det är med hjälp av dessa begrepp som studiens textanalys genomförts och sammanställts. Studien har visat på att det finns ett omfattande ideellt engagemang inom det suicidpreventiva arbetet i Sverige, där Minds arbete spelar en avgörande roll. Resultatet visar även att det finns utmaningar för samverkan samt den enskilda ideella organisationen när interaktiv samhällsstyrning blir en del av socialt arbete. I den behovsanalys som utgår från nuvarande nationella strategi för suicidprevention, som ligger till grund för den förnyade handlingsplan som förväntas komma under senare halvan av 2023 betonas samverkan mellan olika aktörer. Det går att se att det finns en ökad medvetenhet kring de ideella organisationernas gärning inom svårlösta sociala frågor såsom suicid, och att det pågår ett arbete för att på ett bättre sätt integrera detta i den nationella strategi för suicidprevention som ska presenteras för riksdagen i år. / Bengtsson, M. A hopeful endeavor. A casestudy about non-profit involvement in suicide prevention in Sweden. Degree project in social work, 30 credits. Malmö University: Faculty of Health and Society, Department of social work, 2023.  This study is based on the national suicide prevention programe in Sweden and turns its gaze to the role of non-profit organizations. The purpose is to analyze the non-profit organization Mind and their work within national suicide prevention. This essay constitutes a qualitative case study, something that allows us to focus on a single organization. The theoretical framework for this study consists of governance and altruism, it is with the help of these theories that the analysis is carried out and compiled. The study shows that there is an extensive non-profit involvement in suicide precention in Sweden, where Mind plays an important role. Results also show that there are challenges in collaboration and within the individual non-profit organization itself when governance becomes a bigger part of social work. In the making of a new national suicide prevention program an analysis of the needs in the current national strategy has been presented. In this analysis cooperation between different actors within the field is emphasized. There seems to be an increased awareness of the work of non-profit organizations in social work and complex issues such as suicideprevention in the new national strategy which is set to be presented in the latter half of 2023.

This thesis examines the suicide preventive work done in the Swedish municipalities with a focus on the municipal officials responsible for suicide preventive work within the municipality and the state’s governance. The study uses a qualitative research design and the empirical material consists of interviews done with the municipal officials in nine different municipalities around Sweden. The intention of the thesis is to study the governing mechanisms and how the suicide preventive work is implemented in the Swedish municipalities. Furthermore, this study examines the municipal officials’ perceptions of the suicide preventive work. The officials’ perception of the suicide preventive work is essential and is a ground pilar in the work. The thesis also applies the implementation perspective along with the governance perspective to understand the suicide prevention’s challenges and the process of the work. Moreover, the thesis briefly summarizes two reports from Public Health Agency of Sweden (Folkhälsomyndigheten) regarding Sweden’s suicide preventive work in all the municipalities, regions and county administrative boards to give a summary of the work being done in Sweden as well as comparison to the interviews.    The thesis establishes that the suicide preventive work differs between the municipalities and that municipal officials have a much bigger effect on the result than anticipated. The size of the municipalities does not play a huge role, but the politics and resources are essential if the municipalities want to succeed. However, the goal of the government is their vision zero and the interviews have shown that Sweden is nowhere near its goal. The government’s use of soft power seems to have a contributing effect in this and the lack of demands in the suicide preventive work shows that municipalities have handled the issue differently: some have come a long way and have very developed work, and some have a lot left to work with.

Background: Police officers are at high risk for mental and physical health problems and suicidal ideation. The specific risk factors are numerous and concern stressful missions and administrative aspects of the police profession. So far, the police get only little training on specific missions as well as on coping with stress and suicidal ideation in the police profession. In this study we test the efficacy of the online training COPS (Coping with Suicide) for police officers. Methods: A total of 142 police officers fromGermany and Switzerland participated in the study; complete data (baseline and post) are available from 102 participants. The training consisted of three modules covering the topics of delivering death notifications, dealing with individuals with suicidal ideation and dealing with one’s own distress and suicidal ideation in the police profession. The primary outcomes are perceived knowledge and self-rated competence regarding the contents of the program, actual knowledge as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety (PHQ-9), and attitudes toward suicide (ATTS). The data are collected at baseline and after completing the training. Results: We found a significant increase in knowledge as well as in perceived competence after completing the training. Mental health and attitudes toward suicide did not change significantly. Years on the job had no moderating effect on the effectiveness of the training. Discussion: The results suggest that a short e-learning program significantly improves knowledge and self-rated competence in delivering death notifications, in suicide prevention and stress management. It can be easily integrated into the daily routine of police-officers, and participants could participate at their own pace and from any location. One limitation of this study is the lack of a control-group. Further advantages and limitations of this study are discussed.

Suicid är ett folkhälsoproblem i Sverige som skapar ett stort lidande hos de anhöriga som blir kvar. De efterlevande drabbas ofta av psykisk ohälsa som genererar ett ökat behov av hjälp och stöd. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka professionellas upplevelser av krisstöd till anhöriga vid suicid. Studien är kvalitativ och baseras på tio semistrukturerade intervjuer och en tematisk analys där fyra teman har identifierats. Resultatet visar att krisstöd genom stödsamtal är en viktig och central del i sorgebearbetningen, men också att ämnet suicid fortfarande är ett stigmatiserat ämne i samhället vilket kan förhindra att den efterlevande tar emot hjälp eller själv söker hjälp. En del av ansvaret för att få tillgång till krisstöd ligger hos den efterlevande själv vilket leder till ett mörkertal bland efterlevande som aldrig erhåller något krisstöd trots att behovet föreligger. Dessa fynd ligger i linje med tidigare forskning. Resultatet visar även på att det finns delar inom krisstöd som saknas samt att suicidprevention är en nyckelfaktor för att förebygga att de anhöriga någonsin ska behöva krisstöd. / Suicide is a public health problem in Sweden, which creates major suffering among the people close to the deceased. The bereaved often encounter mental illness which generates an increased need for support. The aim of this study is to examine the professionals’ experiences of existing crisis support after a suicide. This is a qualitative study based on ten semi-structured interviews and a thematic analysis where four themes have been identified. The result demonstrates that crisis support through conversations is an important and central part of the grief process, but that suicide as a topic still is stigmatized in society which can prevent the bereaved from accepting or seeking help. Some of the responsibility to get access to crisis support falls on the bereaved, leading to some of the grieving people never getting access to crisis support even though there is a need for it. These findings are in line with previous research. The result also show that parts are missing within crisis support and that suicide prevention is a key factor to prevent individuals from ever needing crisis support.

Suicide is an extensive worldwide public health problem. Every suicide leaves survivors, families and friends in grief and sorrow, a group of people who in turn are in need of support. The purpose of this essay is to increase the knowledge and understanding about these peoples’ need of support as a form of suicide prevention. Someone who suffered a loss of a relative to suicide are at greater risk of mental illness and are in turn at greater risk of committing suicide themselves.  In order to achieve the purpose of this essay, a qualitative study has been done in the form of six interviews with people who have suffered the loss of a relative to suicide. These people have contributed greatly to the essay with stories from their experiences. The conclusion confirms previous research of this subject, the lack of experience and routine about how to receive and support a survivor on a structural level. This essay shows that the survivors in this study are in need of support after a suicide. It also shows that the survivors want direct support and professional help after the suicide.

The need for behavioral evaluations of volunteers performing hotline crisis work led to the development of the Lethality Assessment (LA) Analogue. This measure is designed to evaluate the competence of hotline volunteers in performing the specific crisis intervention skill of Lethality Assessment. This skill is the ability of the volunteers to assess suicide risk in a caller. The specific procedures used in the development of the LA Analogue and preliminary validation data on its use are reported. The development stages of the LA Analogue were following: (a) operationally defining the skill to be assessed, (b) the formulation of a case summary and caller script based on the skill to be assessed, (c) the formulation of a performance rating scale, (d) the standardization of instructions given to the hotline volunteers being assessed and simulators performing the script, and € training and evaluation of simulators. The construct validity of the LA Analogue was evaluated by assessing a group of hotline volunteers beginning a training program at a crisis intervention center. As expected, LA Analogue scores for hotline volunteers increased significantly following specific training in Lethality Assessment with control group scores showing no significant change over the same interval of time, t(25) = 4.50, p < .0005, one-tailed. In addition, a comparison between the significance levels of the LA Analogue and two other instruments measuring a similar attribute, the Suicide Intervention Response Inventory (SIRI) and the Test for Evaluation of Training in Suicide Prevention (SP Test), showed the LA Analogue to be significantly superior to the other two instruments in measuring training effect, LA Analogue p < .0005, SIRI p< .005, and SP Test p < .05, one-tailed. High reliability was demonstrated for the rating system used, .95 to 1.00. The expected correlation between the LA Analogue, SIRI, and SP Test was not found. It is speculated that this lack of correlation may be due to the instruments assessing different levels (performance vs. cognitive) of the same construct (McGee, 1974) and the correlation coefficient's sensitivity to a small range of scores (Pfeiffer & Olson, 1981). For further validation and resolution of this lack of correlation, additional work employing a larger sample size is needed. The formulation of the LA Analogue has several implications for the advancement of assessment in suicide prevention and hotline crisis intervention training. The availability of a consistent behavioral assessment procedure will enable centers to compare the performance of their volunteers. With other methods of assessment in which the presenting stimulus is not controlled, comparisons would be inappropriate for the reason that volunteers are being assessed in response to different caller variables. An additional advancement is the LA Analogue's focus in measuring a skill specific to crisis intervention. In the area of training, the LA Analogue also provides the volunteer with an experiential learning experience in which he or she is directly confronted with the anxieties, fears, and rewards associated with being a hotline crisis worker. The LA Analogue and applications of its design will contribute to the advancement of assessment of hotline crisis intervention skills.

Bakgrund: Suicid är ett stort folkhälsoproblem i Sverige. Det är oklart hur arbetsterapeuter arbetar suicidförebyggande inom psykiatrimottagningar. Det saknas forskning kring evidensbaserade arbetsterapeutiska metoder och interventioner som är suicidpreventiva.  Syfte: Syftet med studien var att belysa hur arbetsterapeuter arbetar suicidförebyggande med vuxna personer inom psykiatrimottagningar.   Metod: En kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats där 11 intervjuer genomfördes och analyserades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Avsiktligt urval användes och kompletterades med ett snöbollsurval. Resultat: Resultatet presenterades i tre kategorier: “arbetsterapeutiskt perspektiv och arbetssätt inom psykiatrin”, “förmågor och erfarenhet i mötet med suicidriskpatienter” samt “organisationens rutiner för suicidprevention”. Detta mynnade ut i två teman: indirekt och direkt suicidprevention. Arbetsterapeuter arbetar indirekt suicidpreventivt genom meningsfulla aktiviteter, vanor, rutiner och roller. Direkt suicidprevention innefattar ett professionsgemensamt perspektiv med suicidriskbedömningar samt kris- och handlingsplan. Slutsats: Arbetsterapeuter arbetar mestadels indirekt suicidförebyggande med skydds- och riskfaktorer, meningsfulla aktiviteter, vanor, rutiner och roller. Det är också viktigt med en god patientrelation samt att våga fråga om suicid. Implikationer: Studien har belyst arbetsterapeutens roll inom psykiatrimottagningar i Sverige samt professionens perspektiv på patienten. Vidare behövs mer forskning gällande arbetsterapins betydelse inom suicidprevention, såsom evidensbaserade arbetsterapeutiska interventioner. / Background: Suicide is a major public health problem in Sweden. It is unclear how occupational therapists work with suicide prevention in psychiatric clinics. There is a lack of research on evidence-based occupational therapy methods and interventions that are suicide preventative. Aim: The purpose of the study was to highlight how occupational therapists work to prevent suicide among adults in psychiatric clinics. Method: A qualitative interview study with an inductive approach with 11 interviews and analyzed with a qualitative content analysis. Purposive sampling was used and supplemented with snowball sampling. Results: The results were presented in three categories: "occupational therapy perspective and working methods in psychiatry", "capability and experience in dealing with suicidal patients" and "the organization's routines for suicide prevention". This resulted in two themes: indirect and direct suicide prevention. Occupational therapists work indirectly to prevent suicide through meaningful activities, habits, routines and roles. Direct suicide prevention includes a collective professional perspective with suicide risk assessments as well as crisis and action plans. Conclusions: Occupational therapists mostly worked indirectly on suicide prevention with protective and risk factors, meaningful activities, habits, routines and roles. It is also important to have a good patient relationship and to dare to ask about suicide. Implications: The study has highlighted the occupational therapist's role within psychiatric clinics in Sweden as well as the profession's perspective on the patient. Furthermore, more research is needed regarding the importance of occupational therapy in suicide prevention, such as evidence-based occupational therapy interventions.

Thesis (M.Psyc.)--University of South Africa, 2001.

Thesis (MEd) -- Stellenbosch University, 1984. / In die loop van die afgelope aantal jare het die massamedia herhaaldelik - by wyse van koerantberigte, tydskrifartikels en aktualiteitsprogramme oor die radio en televisie - die verskynsel van selfmoord by volwassenes, adolessente en kinders onder die aandag gebring. Daar bestaan sterk aanduidings dat daar gedurende die afgelope aantal dekades wêreldwyd 'n beduidende toename in die voorkomssyfers van selfmoord en selfmoordpogings voorgekom het, en dat die syfers bo verwaging hoog kan wees.

Thesis (M.Psyc.)--University of South Africa, 2001.