Mental Health and Suicide in Circumpolar Region
The circumpolar region is currently undergoing profound sociocultural and environmental/climatic change. Circumpolar Indigenous peoples in the past 50 years have additionally witnessed significant and far-reaching change to their societies, practices, and life ways imposed by outside institutions. This symposium explores the human dimension of such change. During this time, suicide has emerged as a significant public health crisis and health equity concern, though more so in some populations and regions than others. Presenters from different international settings will provide an introduction to the epidemiology of circumpolar suicide, exploring commonalities and unique regional perspectives, and emphasizing social epidemiological factors in its understanding. The potential of protective factors for preventive intervention and the circumstances of Indigenous communities will also be emphasized. This session will additionally explore community reluctance regarding research without direct benefit to communities, and the potential for a cyclic collaborative research pathway wherein epidemiology contributes to intervention science with direct benefits to communities, and intervention science enhances understanding of the epidemiological data and contributes fresh questions for epidemiological research.