Interdepartmental System of Preventing Adolescent Suicides

Summary

In 2011 – 2015 a lot of suicide attempts were made and complete suicides were commited by children, they also were observed to have autoaggressive and suicide behavior. The analysis of adolescent suicides carried out shows that mostly children aged 13-16 commit suicide.

Background and Objective

A project of interdepartmental interaction in terms of adolescent suicide behavior prevention was developed in 2015. The project is aimed at developing and launching the operating procedures and activities of social services which work on preventing adolescent suicide. The main project participants include: Guardianship and custody division of Ufa City Municipal District Administration; 4 mental health – care and social centers; Commission on minors and the protection of minors’ rights; Educational institutions (schools); Republican clinical psychotherapeutic center; Republican clinical psychiatry hospital №1. For 2.5 years of implementing the project the city has done a huge work. BACKGROUND INFORMATION In terms of childhood decade events stated by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, in 2017, peculiar attention is paid to the development of the adolescent suicide prevention events system. ORIGINS The problem of adolescent suicides is very serious both in the republic and the country. According to the analytical data of 2015, Bashkortostan Republic ranks second in terms of the amount of adolescent suicides committed compared to the other regions of Volga Federal District of Russia. The analysis of adolescent suicides carried out shows that mostly children aged 13-16 commit suicide. The main reasons for adolescent suicides are: depression because of alcohol, fear of school exams, family problems; communication in destructive groups in social networks; one-sided love; emotional stress; family conflicts; deathof a relative. The project is aimed at developing and launching the operating procedures and activities of social services which work on preventing adolescent suicide. The main project participants include: Guardianship and custody division of Ufa City Municipal District Administration; 4 mental health – care and social centers; Commission on minors and the protection of minors’ rights; Educational institutions (schools); Republican clinical psychotherapeutic center; Republican clinical psychiatry hospital №1. The main efforts were aimed at training exports in order to enhance the efficiency of preventative measures. In 2015 - 2017 in frames of experts training the following events were carried out: 4 conferences, 72 seminars, 15 webinars, 4 trainings, 18 lectures, 26 meetings, and 4 round tables on the issue of implementing the interaction model of preventing suicides. Today the model is being implemented by 48 psychologists, 5 psychotherapists, 6 child psychiatrists, 1 suicidologist, 40 social pedagogues and 28 experts of guardianship and custody.

Outcomes and Impacts

For 2 years of the project implementation the amount of adolescent suicides in Ufa decreased by about 25 %, the adolescent suicide attempts – by 32 %, the children who are in the risk group of suicide tendencies and self-injurious behavior - 26.7 %. Ufa is also planning to launch an events program of making the internet content safe for children. This includes the development of positive games, groups in social networks, service portals for children etc. Guardianship and Custody Division of Ufa city Administration developed 4 operating procedures as following: Operating procedures in case of adolescent suicide committed; Operating procedures in case of adolescent suicide unfinished; Operating procedures when adolescent suicidal behavior is observed; Plan of an individual adolescent suicide prevention approach to a child and his (her) family. The initiative is aimed at the psychological and social stabilizing of the society. Helthy society is always prior so the positive results of the initiative improve the city reputation.

Innovative Initiative

The initiative is more more evolutionary. Its main point is unite all efforts in order to solve the problem. The initiative is being applied in the sphere of children`s rights and legal interests. The main difficulty is that the services and subdivisions working on children`s adolescent suicide prevention belong to different institutions and departments.

Conclusion

Other cities can learn how to make their particular operating procedures in order to solve a social problem. They can also learn the following: Development of operating procedures for interdepartmental interaction adapted to the conditions of other cities. Launch of events program for forming safe content on the internet in order to prevent suicidal tendencies. RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all