The Importance of Culturally informed, Evidence-based Intervention: Laying the Groundwork for Comprehensive Suicide Prevention in Mexico
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Abstract
Suicide is an urgent public health problem worldwide. Although suicide rates in the Americas are close to the global average (9.2 per 100,000 individuals), it is the only world region that has seen an increase in suicide rates in recent years (World Health Organization [WHO], 2025). For this reason, comprehensive, evidence-based strategies to prevent suicide are urgently needed in countries across the Americas. The WHO’s LIVE LIFE Implementation Guide for Suicide Prevention in Countries lists four key population-level, evidence-based strategies to lower suicide risk: “Limit access to the means of suicide; Interact with the media for responsible reporting of suicide; Foster socio-emotional life skills in adolescents; Early identify, assess, manage and follow up anyone who is affected by suicidal behaviours” (WHO, 2025). Broad implementation of just the first of these recommendations (means restriction) would prevent approximately 10,000 and 110,000 suicide deaths in males and females respectively over a decade (Lange et al., 2024).
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