The community must recognise mental health as an important health issue, Shekhar Saxena, director, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, WHO, said. Delivering the Sneha Silver Jubilee Oration on ‘Suicide Prevention – Towards Evidence-based Community Action,' Dr. Saxena, the first Indian to head the mental health division at the WHO, said communities also need to work with the government to establish prevention policies at the local, provincial and national level.

Specifying a role for non-specialised health care providers (including nurses and general practitioners) in suicide prevention, Dr. Saxena said they too need to be aware that suicide is an issue..................Click for more

Source Web Page: The Hindu