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The zero suicide approach: style over substance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2025

Calina Ouliaris Open the ORCID record for Calina Ouliaris [Opens in a new window] ,
Pramudie Gunaratne Open the ORCID record for Pramudie Gunaratne [Opens in a new window] ,
Christopher Ryan Open the ORCID record for Christopher Ryan [Opens in a new window] ,
Sebastian Rosenberg Open the ORCID record for Sebastian Rosenberg [Opens in a new window] ,
Luis Salvador-Carulla Open the ORCID record for Luis Salvador-Carulla [Opens in a new window]  and
Neeraj Gill Open the ORCID record for Neeraj Gill [Opens in a new window]
Calina Ouliaris*
Affiliation:
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Pramudie Gunaratne
Affiliation:
Department of Developmental Disability Neuropsychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Seriph Clinics Neuropsychiatry, St Leonards, Australia
Christopher Ryan
Affiliation:
Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia School of Medicine, Notre Dame University, Darlinghurst, Australia Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia
Sebastian Rosenberg
Affiliation:
Mental Health Policy Unit, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Luis Salvador-Carulla
Affiliation:
Mental Health Policy Unit, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia
Neeraj Gill
Affiliation:
Mental Health Policy Unit, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia School of Medicine and Dentistry, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
*
Correspondence: Calina Ouliaris. Email: calina.ouliaris@mq.edu.au
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Abstract

The zero suicide approach is based on the belief that all deaths from suicide in healthcare settings are preventable. We caution that the narrow focus on suicide prevention as a key indicator for measuring mental health system performance may have adverse consequences.

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Type
Feature
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 226 , Issue 5 , May 2025 , pp. 309 - 312
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists

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Footnotes

†

Joint first authors.

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