Think-tank report on suicide a wake-up call

BHOPAL: A surge in cases of suicide in the state and across the country points to somewhat a disturbing fact. All is not well with mental health of citizens, particularly youth.
A report by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis, a Bhopal-based think tank, in a way, indicate a swift action before it gets too late. The report— ‘suicide prevention strategy framework for Madhya Pradesh’— “MP with a population of over 7 crore has just 15 psychiatric doctors in government hospitals, as opposed to 700 mandated in the National Health Mission (NHM).”

Experts also strongly feel there is an urgent need to put in place a good health infrastructure in the state sooner than later.
“Madhya Pradesh with a population of over 7 crore has just 15 psychiatric doctors in government hospitals, as opposed to 700 as mandated in NHM,” says the report. In Madhya Pradesh, 6-7% — around 42 lakh people suffer from mental health problems and 1-2% — 14 lakh have severe disorder, says the report. The report argues there is no comprehensive suicide prevention framework in place in the state.
The report that takes into account causes and demography of suicides in Bhopal in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 10 months of 2016, studies and covers data from 34 police stations in the state capital. “Suicide is one of the three leading causes of death in economically productive age group (15-44 years) and second major cause in 15-19 years,” reads the report.
It highlights youth in the age group of 20-30 years are most vulnerable category. Men are more vulnerable than women. “Youth in age group of 10-40 years comprise 60% of total suicide cases. Private job holders, housewives, labourers and students form the high-risk category. Family and mental problems, diseases and financial problems were major causes of suicide,” the report states.
The study shows there is a consistent increase in number of suicides among men, a trend in keeping with the global phenomenon. Demographic profile of victims also indicates there is a strong tendency among youth to commit suicide.
“Except for Indore medical colleges, no other government-run medical institute has introduced PG course in clinical psychiatry in the state. There are no courses for clinical psychology in any medical colleges of state,” reads the report. There is no helpline for suicide prevention in MP, the report points out.
At present, MP has two psychiatric hospitals — Mansik Arogyasala and psychiatric hospital in Indore. On Saturday, Union minister Thawar Chand Gehlot announced a psychiatric rehabilitation centre with ‘world-class’ facilities would be set up soon in Bhopal.
The study also lists a framework for suicide prevention in Madhya Pradesh based on findings. The approach adopted follows three phases— identification, intervention and mainstreaming.
The major steps talk about identifying triggers for suicide. “Research across the world suggests existence certain risk factors or pre-disposition, which might precipitate into a crisis,” reads the report. The causative factors can be individual (mental disorder, substance abuse), socio-cultural (stigma associated with talking about problems) or situational (failure in exams, financial problems). This apart, the target group needs to be identified for intervention. Mainstreaming revolves around removal of stigma.
Dr Satyakant Trivedi, a psychiatrist, who is spearheading a campaign to include mental health in school curriculum, says, “Suicides can be prevented if a stigma around mental health is removed. Mental health facilities in India and the state need a lot of improvement. The facilities should be made accessible to all strata of the society.”