Attitudes within the general population towards seeking professional help in cases of mental distress.

BACKGROUND: Although effective treatment is available for a variety of mental disorders, the treatment and help-seeking gap remains high. One of the main obstacles to help-seeking behaviour is prevailing stigmatizing attitudes. AIM: To examine attitudes within the general population towards seeking professional help in times of mental distress. METHODS: A representative general population survey ( N = 594) was conducted in Slovenia by means of an Internet-based questionnaire, covering data on demographic variables and attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour. RESULTS: More stigmatizing attitudes towards help-seeking behaviour were found in men, single persons, those of a younger age and lower educational achievement and in respondents coming from regions with a high suicide rate. Furthermore, 52.50% of the total sample have had an experience with psychological problems, yet only 41.50% of those have sought professional help. Experience with help-seeking behaviour in the past was associated with less stigmatizing attitudes. CONCLUSION: Knowledge and understanding of mental health problems are necessary prerequisites to seeking help, but not the only ones. To improve help-seeking behaviour, it is also important to combat stigmatizing attitudes. Additionally, destigmatizing campaigns should also focus on social norms.

Best practice elements of multilevel suicide prevention strategies: a review of systematic reviews.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based best practices for incorporation into an optimal multilevel intervention for suicide prevention should be identifiable in the literature. AIMS: To identify effective interventions for the prevention of suicidal behavior. METHODS: Review of systematic reviews found in the Pubmed, Cochrane, and DARE databases. Steps include risk-of-bias assessment, data extraction, summarization of best practices, and identification of synergistic potentials of such practices in multilevel approaches. RESULTS: Six relevant systematic reviews were found. Best practices identified as effective were as follows: training general practitioners (GPs) to recognize and treat depression and suicidality, improving accessibility of care for at-risk people, and restricting access to means of suicide. Although no outcomes were reported for multilevel interventions or for synergistic effects of multiple interventions applied together, indirect support was found for possible synergies in particular combinations of interventions within multilevel strategies. CONCLUSIONS: A number of evidence-based best practices for the prevention of suicide and suicide attempts were identified. Research is needed on the nature and extent of potential synergistic effects of various preventive activities within multilevel interventions.