The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis.
Supported by the German Alliance Against Depression, 82 regions in Germany launched their own community-based multi-level intervention programs targeting both depression and suicidal behavior prior to January 2016. Sixteen of these regions have implemented the full 4-level intervention program compr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254133 |
| _version_ | 1819042647576150016 |
|---|---|
| author | Judith Köhler Ines Heinz Roland Mergl Anne Elsner Ulrich Hegerl |
| author_facet | Judith Köhler Ines Heinz Roland Mergl Anne Elsner Ulrich Hegerl |
| author_sort | Judith Köhler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Supported by the German Alliance Against Depression, 82 regions in Germany launched their own community-based multi-level intervention programs targeting both depression and suicidal behavior prior to January 2016. Sixteen of these regions have implemented the full 4-level intervention program comprising 1) training of General Practitioners, 2) a public awareness campaign, 3) training of community facilitators and 4) support for depressed patients and their relatives for at least three years. The aim of the study was to examine possible suicide prevention effects in these sixteen 4-level intervention regions (comprising a population of 6,976,309) by 1) comparing the annual suicide rates during the 3-year intervention period to a 10-year baseline and 2) comparing these differences to corresponding trends in Germany after excluding all intervention regions (Germany-IR). Primary outcome was the annual rate of suicides. Analyses included negative binomial regression models. When examining differences between suicide rates during the intervention period compared to the baseline period, only a trend towards a significant reduction was found. This reduction of suicides in the sixteen 4-level intervention regions did not differ from that in Germany-IR as control. The interpretation of these findings has to take into account that the training of General Practitioners, police and other community facilitators might have improved the recognition of suicides, thus increasing detection rates. Furthermore, destigmatizing effects of the public awareness campaigns might have increased the number of suicides by lowering suicide threshold ("normalization") for those at risk and by decreasing the rate of suicides deliberately hidden by suicide victims or their relatives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:44:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eb34c4d5a2bc45df8a3dcbbb2abb5419 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T09:44:13Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-eb34c4d5a2bc45df8a3dcbbb2abb54192022-12-21T19:08:23ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-01167e025413310.1371/journal.pone.0254133The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis.Judith KöhlerInes HeinzRoland MerglAnne ElsnerUlrich HegerlSupported by the German Alliance Against Depression, 82 regions in Germany launched their own community-based multi-level intervention programs targeting both depression and suicidal behavior prior to January 2016. Sixteen of these regions have implemented the full 4-level intervention program comprising 1) training of General Practitioners, 2) a public awareness campaign, 3) training of community facilitators and 4) support for depressed patients and their relatives for at least three years. The aim of the study was to examine possible suicide prevention effects in these sixteen 4-level intervention regions (comprising a population of 6,976,309) by 1) comparing the annual suicide rates during the 3-year intervention period to a 10-year baseline and 2) comparing these differences to corresponding trends in Germany after excluding all intervention regions (Germany-IR). Primary outcome was the annual rate of suicides. Analyses included negative binomial regression models. When examining differences between suicide rates during the intervention period compared to the baseline period, only a trend towards a significant reduction was found. This reduction of suicides in the sixteen 4-level intervention regions did not differ from that in Germany-IR as control. The interpretation of these findings has to take into account that the training of General Practitioners, police and other community facilitators might have improved the recognition of suicides, thus increasing detection rates. Furthermore, destigmatizing effects of the public awareness campaigns might have increased the number of suicides by lowering suicide threshold ("normalization") for those at risk and by decreasing the rate of suicides deliberately hidden by suicide victims or their relatives.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254133 |
| spellingShingle | Judith Köhler Ines Heinz Roland Mergl Anne Elsner Ulrich Hegerl The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. PLoS ONE |
| title | The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. |
| title_full | The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. |
| title_fullStr | The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. |
| title_short | The German Alliance Against Depression and suicide rates: A retrospective analysis. |
| title_sort | german alliance against depression and suicide rates a retrospective analysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254133 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT judithkohler thegermanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT inesheinz thegermanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT rolandmergl thegermanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT anneelsner thegermanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT ulrichhegerl thegermanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT judithkohler germanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT inesheinz germanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT rolandmergl germanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT anneelsner germanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis AT ulrichhegerl germanallianceagainstdepressionandsuicideratesaretrospectiveanalysis |