81 children in B.C. killed themselves in last 4 years: report
04.12.2008 03:27
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
Suicide is the second-leading cause of preventable death for British Columbia children between 12 and 18, a new study of youth suicide said Tuesday. The B.C. Coroners Service report said 81 children killed themselves between 2003 and 2007, and 70 per cent of them had shown signs of suicidal behaviour and reached out to someone for help. "Parents and family members told us that in hindsight they noticed changes in behaviour — kids withdrawing, changing their patterns, neglecting their personal hygiene," said Kellie Kilpatrick, director of the Coroners Service's child death review unit. "And they put it down to normal adolescent angst, which it may very well be, but I think these children and youth deaths have shown us we have to pay attention, we have to listen." The groups most at risk are teenage boys, gay teens and aboriginal youth, the report said. The report, prepared by a special panel including parents, mental health experts and researchers, makes 17 recommendations. The provincial government needs to establish a suicide-prevention program and to better understand the signs of children at risk of suicide, the report said. "We want to get the message out to kids and families to start talking about child safety and well-being, and encourage families to talk," Kilpatrick said. Prevention education a keyThe report, entitled Looking for Something to Look Forward To, said suicide prevention is an issue that must spread far beyond families, Kilpatrick said. B.C.'s Children's Representative Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond called the report valuable and thorough. She is currently reviewing nine youth suicides and 45 attempted suicides in British Columbia since last June. "We have a cluster," she said. "That's a sufficient group that we've started an aggregate suicide review, looking at primarily mental health supports to adolescents," Turpel-Lafond said. The Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre of B.C. said the province had one of the highest youth suicide rates in the country a decade ago, but it now has one of the lowest. "We are doing education with kids. We are doing education with school counsellors and teachers," said Susan Sorrel, the centre's director of community education. "There are more mental health services that are starting to realize most kids who are suicidal have some kind of intense mental issue, primarily a mood disorder," she said. With files from the Canadian PressStory Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksSurvey warns youth hurt themselves to deal with mental stressNew program aims to lower suicide attempts in northern B.C.B.C. community pleads for help to halt suicide 'epidemic'Health HeadlinesHealth care often inaccessible to Inuit: reportInuit have far less contact with doctors than the average Canadian, particularly in the northern communities where few have hospitals, a new Statistics Canada report says.Self-embedding of objects in body a puzzling teen disorderSome teens are wounding themselves and embedding objects such as paper clips and glass to cope with disturbed thoughts and feelings, say U.S. doctors who are looking for ways to remove the objects safely.Add sleep break for doctors in training: reportDoctors training at hospitals should limit how long they work without a sleep break to reduce the chances of fatigue-related medical errors and improve their learning environment, an expert panel in the U.S. recommended.Canadians eating less lunch meat after listeriosis outbreak: studyLast summer's listeriosis outbreak has caused Canadians to re-examine their eating habits, a University of Guelph survey suggests.Online stem cell therapies 'not ready for prime time,' study cautionsA Canadian study says consumers should be wary of web-based clinics that offer unproven stem cell therapies for numerous diseases. Health FeaturesWEEKLY CHECKUPPutting kids firstLessons from Madonna and GuyIN DEPTHCholeraNUTRITIONTrans fatsGirl Guides moving away from 'bad' fats FOOD SAFETYJuice boxes Reports of leaks prompt CFIA investigationVIDEODodaAddictive poppy derivative poses challenge to police (2:18)CAMPUS CRACKDOWNDrunken studentsA problem that is well past the tippling pointPeople who read this also read …
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