Suicidal behaviour in indigenous population: state of the art review

• Published in: Revista de la Facultad de Medicina
• Main Authors: Vargas-Espíndola, Alejandra, Villamizar-Guerrero, Juliet Catherine, Puerto-López, Jhon Sebastián, Rojas-Villamizar, Manuel Ricardo, Ramírez-Montes, Omar Santiago, Urrego-Mendoza, Zulma Consuelo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia - Sede Bogotá - Facultad de Medicina 2017
• Subjects: Suicide; Indigenous Population; Review Literature as Topic; Mental Health; Medicine; Psychiatry; Suicidio; Población indígena; Literatura de revisión como asunto; Salud mental; Medicina; Psiquiatría; Circumpolar Health
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/revfacmed/article/view/54928

Introduction: A literature review in databases was carried out on suicidal behavior in indigenous peoples to identify its characterization as a public health problem.Objective: To systematize the knowledge on suicide in indigenous peoples based on papers and research reports published until 2014.Materials and Methods: Literature review of 149 papers published regarding suicide in indigenous communities, which were analyzed according to topographic, chronological, approach and content aspects.Results: Scientific research on suicide in indigenous peoples is limited. However, the literature reviewed indicates that suicide rates are higher in indigenous peoples than in the general population, especially among young people, worldwide. Research on suicide in indigenous communities is predominantly based on risk factors, and should be understood more as a social rather than an individual event resulting from an imbalance between destructive processes and health and quality of life programs.Conclusions: Suicide in indigenous peoples is a public health problem whose comprehensive study should be encouraged from an intercultural approach, thus facilitating the implementation of culturally appropriate interventions. Introducción. Se realizó una revisión documental en bases de datos sobre conducta suicida en pueblos indígenas, tipo estado del arte, que la identificara como un problema de salud pública.Objetivo. Sistematizar el estado del conocimiento que se construye sobre la conducta suicida en pueblos indígenas, a partir de artículos e informes de investigación publicados hasta 2014.Materiales y métodos. Revisión documental de 149 documentos publicados sobre conducta suicida en pueblos indígenas, que fueron analizados según aspectos cronológicos, topográficos, de enfoque y contenido.Resultados. La literatura revisada indica que la tasa de suicidios en los pueblos originarios es mayor que el de la población general en el mundo (sobre todo en jóvenes). El enfoque prevalente de los estudios revisados es cualitativo o ...