Technology and Suicide Paper
Suicide is defined as the act of intentionally ending one’s own life (Kosaraju et al., 2015). It is defined as “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with the intent to die as a result of the behavior” (National Institute of Mental Health, 2020). In the United States, suicide is a major public health concern and a leading cause of death among school age youth.
According The Jason Foundation (2020), in the United States, suicide is considered as the second leading cause of death for middle and high school students between the ages of 12 and 18, the second leading cause of death for college age youth between the ages of 18 and 22, and the second leading cause of death for those aged 10 to 24 (The Jason Foundation, 2020).
According to the Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (2020), the United States has one of the highest suicide rates among developed nations. In the United States, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide every day and close to 45,000 Americans die to suicide every year (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, 2020).
The rate of suicide is highest in youth ages 10 to 24, which represent a rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 people. In the United States, more young people die from suicide than from AIDS, cancer, birth defects, influenza, stroke, pneumonia, and chronic lung disease, combined (The Jason Foundation, 2020).
Youth suicidal thoughts, plans, attempt, and completion are on the rise. According to the America’s Health Rankings (2020), between 2008 and 2017, suicidal ideation, attempt, and completion all increased significantly, and in some cases more than doubled.
In the United States, suicidal thoughts or attempts are far more common than suicide deaths among young people. According to the researchers, in 2017, approximately 17 percent of high schools students seriously considered attempting suicide, while 7.4 percent attempted suicide (Kann et al., 2018).
Suicide cost the United States an approximate amount of $69 billion each year (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2020). The average cost per youth suicide is estimated by be at least $1.4 million (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (2020), 97 percent of the costs are due to lost productivity. The remaining three percent are costs associated with medical treatment.
A suicide is a clear indication that something was gravely wrong in a person’s life (Mental Health America, 2020). According to Mental Health America (2020), most people who planned, attempted, or completed suicide had at some point in their life a serious mental condition (e.g. depression) or psychological distress such as anxiety, extensive worries, sadness, nervousness, and or hopelessness.
There is no simple answer for why some school age students seek to die by suicide. There are many risk factors for suicide. However, according Luxton, June, & Fairall (2012), there is increasing evidence that digital technologies (e.g. Internet and social media) can influence suicide related behavior among school age students.
According to Luxton, June, & Fairall (2012), there are several ways in which social media can influence suicide related behaviors. Among them is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying refers to when a child or adolescent is intentionally and repeatedly harassed, threatened, or embarrassed by another child by means of cellular phones or Internet technologies such as e-mail, texting, social networking sites, or instant messaging.
Cyberbullying behaviors include posting rumors, humiliating comments, personal information, pictures, or videos to offend or embarrass another person (Teens Health, 2020). In the United States, cyberbullying is a major problem for teenagers.
According to Enough Is Enough (2020), in the United States, about half of young people (59%) reported that they have experienced some form of cyberbullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly. Cyberbullying is a problem because it is related to a greater likelihood of suicidal thoughts and behavior.
According to the Megan Meier Foundation (2020), youth who experienced cyberbullying are twice more likely to attempt suicide than non-bullies. Cyber bullying increases young peoples’ risk of suicide by amplifying their feelings of isolation, instability, and hopelessness.
The loss of a school age student by suicide is often shocking and tragic. It can be a surprise to loved ones. Nonetheless it can be prevented. The Whole School, Whole Child, and Whole Community (WSCC) approach could help combat this issue. The WSCC model is a framework for addressing health in schools.
The WSCC model focuses on the child and emphasizes the collaboration between schools, communities, public health, and health care sectors to align resources to support not only the academic learning for each child, but also the experiences that encourage the development of a whole child; meaning a child who is knowledgeable, safe, challenged, healthy, supported, and engaged (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2020).
Schools play a critical role in promoting the health of young people. Schools could help combat cyberbullying-related suicide by including suicide prevention programs as part of their health education curriculum. Suicide prevention programs in schools’ settings could help reduce suicide attempts and suicide deaths among school age students.
These programs could help improve student’s knowledge and coping mechanisms to address suicidal thoughts. They could also help students learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide in themselves and others. The main advantage of these programs is that it could help increase help-seeking behavior in students, which can in return help reduce suicidal thoughts and suicide deaths among students.
The involvement of families and communities in schools can be very important to the learning, development, and well-being of students. When schools involve families in the learning and health of students, they can support and reinforce healthy behaviors in multiple settings (e.g., at home, in school, communities, and in out-of-school) (CDC, 2020).
For the community, the best way to prevent youth cyberbullying-related suicide is by having parents talk to their kids about the appropriate online behavior and the importance of treating each other with kindness and respect, whether on-line or face-to-face.
Schools could also help prevent cyberbullying-related suicide by encouraging parents to build a strong relationship with their children (for example encouraging parents to spend time with their children each night around the dinner table). A strong and positive parent-child relationship makes children feel more connected to their parents and more willing to talk to their parents about their problems (e.g., cyberbullying).
Lastly, in order to support the Whole Child, schools could collaborate with other members of the community, such as community health care centers, to provide access to valuable resources to their students. Increasing access to mental health services outside of the school setting could help children feel more confortable talking about their mental health issues.
In addition, schools could also collaborate with their local community health centers and invite them to their school fairs. Having mental health fairs with professional from the community could help students learn how to combat cyberbullying-related suicidal thoughts.
References:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2020). Suicide facts & figures: United States 2019. Retrieved from https://chapterland.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2017/11/US_FactsFigures_Flyer.pdf
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). CDC healthy schools. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/wscc/index.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). The whole school, whole community, and whole child model. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/wscc/pdf/wscc_fact_sheet_508c.pdf
Community Matters. (2020). Bullying, cyberbullying, and teen suicide: risks and prevention strategies. Retrieved from https://community-matters.org/2019/04/18/bullying-cyberbullying-and-teen-suicide-risks-and-prevention-strategies/
Enough is Enough. (2020). Cyberbullying statistics. Retrieved from https://enough.org/stats_cyberbullying
Kann, L., McManus, T., Harris, A. W., Shanklin, L. S., Flint, H. K., Queen, B., Lowry, R., Chyen, D., Whittle, L., Thornton, J., Lim, C., Bradford, D., Yamakawa, Y., Leon, M., Brener, N., & Ethier, A. K. (2018). Youth risk behavior surveillance- United States, 2017. MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 67(8), 1–114. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6708a1
Kosaraju, M. S., Vadlamani, N. L., Bashir, M. S., Kalasapati, K. L., Roa, C. G., & Roa, P. G. (2015). Risk factors for suicidal attempts among lower socioeconomic rural population of Telangana region. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 37 (1), 30-35. doi: 10.4103/0253-7176.150813
Luxton, D. D., June, D. J., & Fairall, M. J. (2012). Social media and suicide: a public health perspective. American Public Health Association, 102(2), 1-6. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300608
Megan Meier Foundation. (2020). Bullying, cyberbullying, & suicide statistics. Retrieved from https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics
Mental Health America. (2020). Suicide. Retrieved from https://www.mhanational.org/conditions/suicide
National Institute of Mental Health. (2020). Suicide. Retrieved from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml
Suicide Awareness Voices of Education. (2020). Suicide facts. Retrieved from https://save.org/about-suicide/suicide-facts/
Teens Health. (2020). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/cyberbullying.html
The Jason Foundation. (2020). Facts & stats. Retrieved from https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/facts-stats/
The Jason Foundation. (2020). Facts & stats. Retrieved from https://jasonfoundation.com/youth-suicide/facts-stats/
Western Michigan University. (2020). Facts about suicide. Retrieved from https://wmich.edu/suicideprevention/basics/facts
Technology and Suicide Paper Instructions
Choose a global health issue. For this assignment, you will introduce the health issue and discuss the interventions necessary to prevent the issue and promote health.
Some topics to consider may include:
Anthrax
Bioterrorism
Cholera
Clostridium botulinum infection
Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus
Ebola virus disease
Escherichia coli
Human immunodeficiency virus disease
Malaria
Plague
Severe respiratory distress syndrome
Small pox
Suicide
Tuberculosis
Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus infection
West Nile virus
Include the following in your paper:
Introduction/overview of the health issue and the prevalence in the United States and worldwide
Contributing factors
Prevention strategies
Signs and symptoms
Diagnostic tests (if applicable)
Advanced practice nursing role and management strategies
Medical/pharmacological management (if applicable)
Follow-up care
Conclusion
Write a 3–4 page paper following APA format. You must include 2–3 scholarly sources in your citations and references.