Suicide Awareness and Prevention Among Black and Asian Communities
The OLLIE Foundation’s talk “History and it’s impact on Wellbeing” with Dr Jean Dillon, Shaun Pascal, Bonnie Singh, Tanya Marwahais and Michael Wallace.
Ethnicity highlights inequalities in suicide and its prevention, but data on suicide rates among ethnic groups is often flawed due to issues in data collection and categorisation. Diverse groups are frequently merged into broad categories like ‘BAME,’ and there is inconsistency in how these groups are classified or sometimes entirely omitted.
Suicides in minoritised ethnic groups may be underreported because of stigma and recording issues. Mental health issues can be more prevalent in some groups compared to White people. For example:
- Black men have higher rates of psychotic disorders than White men
- Black people are four times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than White people
- Older South Asian women are at higher risk for suicide
- Refugees and asylum seekers experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, and PTSD than the general population
- Conversely, some groups have better mental health outcomes:
- Individuals of Indian, Pakistani, and African-Caribbean descent report higher mental well-being
- Suicidal thoughts and self-harm are less common among Asian people than White people
- Mental ill-health rates are lower among Chinese people than White people
It is crucial to recognise that available statistics may not fully capture the extent of mental health issues among these groups due to limited data and lower reporting rates within these communities. In this panel event we discuss the causation and risk factors for suicide within Black and Asian communities.
Hosted by The OLLIE Foundation – https://theolliefoundation.org/
