News & Events
World Suicide Prevention Day 2024
International World Suicide Prevention Day is an important time to acknowledge and remember lives that have been sadly lost to suicide.
For people who have been bereaved, and for others who are going through challenging times, it is a priority to highlight specialised services, supports, intervention and research projects, such as PROSPERH and MENTUPP, that the UCC School of Public Health and National Suicide Research Foundation are leading with many different agencies, internationally, nationally and locally.
MENTUPP, a Horizon 2020-funded research project, aimed to improve mental health in the workplace by developing, implementing and evaluating a multilevel intervention (the MENTUPP Hub) that targeted mental health difficulties in Small and Medium Enterprises in construction, health and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)- sectors with high suicide rates. Carrying the research to the next level, the PROSPERH Project with Horizon Europe funding started in January of this year and aims to improve physical and mental health in the workplaces of these challenging employment sectors.
The PROSPERH Project: Promoting Positive Mental and Physical Health in Changing Work Environments (www.prosperh.eu) is an EU Horizon Europe project aimed at creating an innovative intervention to enable companies to improve mental and physical health among their workforces. There is a gap in ‘upstream’ interventions that target multiple levels, including organisational (work), peer and individual (worker) aspects, with a particular focus on the construction and health sector and Telework and ICT-based Mobile Work (TICTM).
PROSPERH’s intervention aims to improve resilience and coping skills for workers when faced with adversity related to both mental and physical health and prevent the development of severe mental health conditions and risk of self-harm and suicide. In this regard, PROSPERH makes an important contribution to “Changing the Narrative on Suicide”, which is the theme of this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day."
According to the PROSPERH Lead, Prof. Ella Arensman, Head of University College Cork’s School of Public Health and Chief Scientist, National Suicide Research Foundation, “PROSPERH builds on the work of MENTUPP and is a population-based approach which aims to contribute to improving people’s resilience and coping skills and reduce the risk of developing severe mental health conditions and suicidal behaviour. I would encourage work settings to prioritise mental and physical health by taking advantage of available resources, seeking support from colleagues and supervisors, and practising self-care”.
PROSPERH Co-Lead, Dr Eve Griffin, Chief Executive Officer at the National Suicide Research Foundation states that, “On this World Suicide Prevention Day we want to highlight the role that workplaces can play in promoting the wellbeing of all employees. Employers and workplaces have an opportunity to commit to initiatives such as the PROSPERH intervention, to support the mental and physical wellbeing of employees and to foster safe and supportive workplace settings.”
Global Statistics
https://www.iasp.info/wspd/outreach-briefs/
- Suicide ranks consistently among the top 20 causes of death globally across all age groups.
- One in every 100 deaths worldwide is the result of suicide.
- The global suicide rate is over twice as high among men than women.
- More than half (58%) of all deaths by suicide occur before the age of 50 years old.
Relevant Support Service in Ireland:
Many services are open 24/7 and you can make contact in different ways, for example:
- on the phone – Samaritans, visit samaritans.ieor freephone 116 123
- by text – Text About It, text HELLO to 50808, visit textaboutit.ie
- online – My Mind, visit mymind.org
One can also call the HSE YourMentalHealth Information Line, anytime day or night, for information on mental health, and what other services and supports are available near you – freephone 1800 111 888 or visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie.