The Strategical Role of General Practitioner in the Prevention of Suicide: Preliminary Data From a Descriptive Study in the Province of Trento.

Suicide is a serious public health problem, as confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It turns out to be, at least in part, preventable, but it is a complex problem, requiring complex solutions. Studies show us that about 44.5 percent of suicidal individuals would have expressed to someone, prior to the act, their intention to take their own life. Data in scientific literature specifically estimate that 44% of those who died by suicide had seen their general practitioner in the 30 days prior to the act. From this perspective, the general practitioner plays a potentially strategic role, as he or she can act as a "sentinel" in the early recognition of individuals in suicidal crisis and intervene directly, including by referring them to dedicated services. He can also disseminate correct information to the population and promote a culture of sensitivity and acceptance of vulnerabilities, facilitating the expression of possible distress and the potential request for help. In a community suicide prevention strategy, such as that of the Invitation to Life project, it was considered appropriate to investigate the knowledge and training needs of general practitioners in the Province of Trento in the present day, in order to specifically reorient training interventions to be developed in the future.

Suicidal Phenomenon in Pandemic Times. The Trentino's Reality.

Suicide is a major public health problem; according to the latest WHO data, it is among the top twenty causes of death in the world. After the sudden and unexpected spreading of a global pandemic in 2020, many mental health researchers have launched alarms about a possible suicide rates' rise, due to the inevitable consequences of the ongoing social and health emergency. However, recent articles in scientific literature have disconfirmed this thesis. Trentino also seems not to deviate from this dynamic: preliminary data, collected in an unconventional, and not yet official way, have been able to show that in 2020 the suicide rate remained stable. The finding that excludes up to date such a rise in rates does not unfortunately provide any guarantee that the situation will remain constant over time, and that there cannot be significant differences regarding gender, ethnicity, religious faith, sexual orientation or social class in determining a different impact of the current crisis on the suicidal phenomenon. Further studies and insights into the processing of the data in our possession are needed. Difficulties and uncertainties connected to the covid-19, with which it is now clear that the community will have to "learn to live together", could also in the medium and long term constitute a prolonged stress-generating element with a greater negative impact on the mental health of the population. It is essential, in light of the particular social and health situation we are experiencing, to carry out with even greater effectiveness, precision and continuity actions such as those promoted within the Invito alla Vita Project for the prevention of suicide, in order to guarantee the most effective prevention of this serious phenomenon. The psychological and social implications of the covid-19 pandemic will only be fully assessable in a few years, when the crisis will be effectively over. Only then we will be able to understand if the efforts put in place at a global level, and in particular in the province of Trento, have been effective in the managing of the suicidal phenomenon.