Multidisciplinary approach to suicide prevention of adolescents in Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

The prevalence of suicides among young people continues to be a top health challenge worldwide. It affects individuals, families, and communities. The causes encompass both mental health issues and psychosocial stressors, which are exacerbated by a number of determinants such as financial constraints, poor family relationships, peer bullying and victimization, and any forms of abuse. Suicide prevention calls for strategies at every level of society. This approach should include a range of preventive strategies and activities to identify and intervene early, build young people’s life skills and provide access to appropriate services and support. As a holistic strategy, a multidisciplinary team is known for taking a thorough approach to prevent many youth issues, including suicide, bringing together different stakeholders, and is based on their current contexts and resources. The teams include specialists such as educators, primary health professionals, social workers, police, children’s organizations, and other stakeholders which work best in ensuring that individuals at risk of suicide receive the holistic care and support they need. However, there is a lack of long-term policy, practical tools, and evidence-based research that can guide social service providers working together in assessing adolescent suicidal ideation, putting general prevention into place, and reducing potential risks. This study aimed to analyze the system of work of the multidisciplinary teams in the prevention of adolescent suicide in educational settings in Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan. The study utilized a qualitative research method – a semi-structured interview of 10 various specialists from Slovakia and Kyrgyzstan. Despite different levels of development and practical implementation of multidisciplinary team concepts in both countries, the results revealed a generally positive image of the collaborative effort of various professionals in the prevention area. The teams in schools aim to create a protective environment with family and community support for young people contributing substantially in mitigating many issues of adolescents during their fragile period of upbringing. It is concluded in the study that prevention efforts require coordination among multiple social institutions with good governance and unified strategy. However, it has been noted that there is still potential for development, particularly in terms of better cooperation among specialists, recognition of the problem of youth suicide on the national level, and institutionalizing procedures to increase the status and education level of multidisciplinary teams. This research is innovative in its originality and adds a valuable and up-to-date point in suggesting a more comprehensive system for work of the multidisciplinary teams in both countries which potentially may contribute to suicide reduction among adolescents.