A scoping review of Indigenous suicide prevention in circumpolar regions.
BACKGROUND
Suicide is a serious public health challenge in circumpolar regions, especially among Indigenous youth. Indigenous communities, government agencies and health care providers are making concerted efforts to reduce the burden of suicide and strengthen protective factors for individuals, families and communities. The persistence of suicide has made it clear that more needs to be done.


OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to undertake a scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature on suicide prevention and interventions in Indigenous communities across the circumpolar north. Our objective was to determine the extent and types of interventions that have been reported during past decade. We want to use this knowledge to support community initiative and inform intervention development and evaluation.


METHODS
We conducted a scoping review of online databases to identify studies published between 2004 and 2014. We included articles that described interventions in differentiated circumpolar Indigenous populations and provided evaluation data. We retained grey literature publications for comparative reference.


RESULTS
Our search identified 95 articles that focused on suicide in distinct circumpolar Indigenous populations; 19 articles discussed specific suicide-related interventions and 7 of these described program evaluation methods and results in detail. The majority of publications on specific interventions were found in North American countries. The majority of prevention or intervention documentation was found in supporting grey literature sources.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite widespread concern about suicide in the circumpolar world and active community efforts to promote resilience and mental well-being, we found few recorded programs or initiatives documented in the peer-reviewed literature, and even fewer focusing specifically on youth intervention. The interventions described in the studies we found had diverse program designs and content, and used varied evaluation methods and outcomes. The studies we included consistently reported that it was important to use community-based and culturally guided interventions and evaluations. This article summarizes the current climate of Indigenous circumpolar suicide research in the context of intervention and highlights how intervention-based outcomes have largely remained outside of peer-reviewed sources in this region of the world.
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Yellowknife, NT, Canada.
Jennifer
J
Redvers
Centre for Health Research in Greenland, National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Peter
P
Bjerregaard
Municipality of Utsjoki Health Centre, Utsjoki, Finland.
Heidi
H
Eriksen
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Yellowknife, NT, Canada.|Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sahar
S
Fanian
Qaujigiartiit Health Research Centre, Iqaluit, NU, Canada.
Gwen
G
Healey
Southcentral Foundation, Anchorage, AK, USA.
Vanessa
V
Hiratsuka
Labrador-Grenfell Regional Health Authority, Goose Bay, NL, Canada.
Michael
M
Jong
Centre for Health Research in Greenland, National Institute of Public Health, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Christina Viskum Lytken
CV
Larsen
John McLean Health Sciences Library, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Janice
J
Linton
Labrador-Grenfell Regional Health Authority, Goose Bay, NL, Canada.
Nathaniel
N
Pollock
Sami National Centre for Mental Health, Karasjok, Norway.|Centre for Sami Health Research, University of Tromsø - The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Anne
A
Silviken
Sami National Centre for Mental Health, Karasjok, Norway.
Petter
P
Stoor
Institute for Circumpolar Health Research, Yellowknife, NT, Canada.|Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Susan.chatwood@ichr.ca.
Susan
S
Chatwood
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001110:Arctic Regions; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D020380:Needs Assessment; D044382:Population Groups / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
Arctic; Indigenous; circumpolar; interventions; prevention; suicide