Page 10 - Intuition, Imagination and Innovation in Suicidology Conference. 13th Triple i | Koper · Slovenia | 31 May–1 June 2022
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h Triple i | Koper · Slovenia | 31 May–1 June 2022 Suicide Risk and Prevention
during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Invited lecture · David Gunnell

Prof. David Gunnell, FFPH DSc FMedSci, is a Public Health Physician and Profes-
sor of Epidemiology at the University of Bristol (UK). He has worked in the field
of suicide prevention for almost 30 years, publishing over 350 peer reviewed pa-
pers, largely focussing on: (1) national and international approaches for preven-
ting suicide and improving population mental health; (2) early life and life course
influences on suicidal behaviour and mental health. He has contributed several
WHO reports – most recently their work on pesticide regulation. He is a member
of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group for England and con-
tributed to numerous medicine safety reviews. Areas of current research include:
the mental health and risk of suicide of young people (including students); the
impact of Covid-19 on population mental health and suicide; the global burden
of pesticide suicide. In early 2020 he brought together a group of suicide preventi-
on researchers from around the world to form the International Covid-19 Suicide
Prevention Research Collaboration (ICSPRC).

Abstract. It’s over 2 years since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 6
million people have lost their lives and over 500 million people have been
diagnosed with COVID. Although research findings on trends in suicide du-
ring the early months of the pandemic have generally been reassuring, the
substantial global disruption to populations, health systems and economies
caused by the pandemic may lead to adverse effects on suicidal behaviour
and suicide deaths in the medium to long term. The magnitude and dura-
tion of these effects is likely to differ in different countries and in different
cohorts within countries depending on the severity of the pandemic, natio-
nal and local responses, and underlying characteristics of the communities.
Drawing on the work of the International COVID19 Suicide Prevention and
Research Collaboration (ICSPRC) – a collaboration with members from over
40 countries – this talk will highlight the most recent evidence about the ef-
fect of the pandemic on suicidal behaviour in several locations around the
globe, assess the implications of these findings for suicide prevention and
outline priorities for suicide research in coming months.

10 https://doi.org/10.26493/978-961-293-184-1.2
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