Editorial for Special Issue on Understanding and Prevention of Suicidal Behavior: Humanizing Care and Integrating Social Determinants

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a preventable public health and social problem. Suicidal behavior is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon whose characterization, assessment, prevention, intervention, and postvention require a comprehensive approach focused on the meaning in a person’s life and ttheir suffering in their biographical, social and cultural context. It is an extraordinarily variable phenomenon over time and highly dependent on contextual elements. Method: This editorial includes the social determinants of this phenomenon, key aspects linked to the dehumanization of healthcare settings, the problems of iatrogenic harm in universal prevention programs for schoolchildren and adolescents, and good clinical practices collected in the scientific literature. Results: The editorial highlights the importance of research for the prevention of suicidal behavior from any intervention level, whether educational, community, social, or health, as all are involved in prevention. Conclusions: The goal is to help improve the biographical circumstances of people with suicidal behaviors and the meaningfulness of their lives. This must be done through a collective scaffolding in which the most vulnerable can ask for help when they need it, as well as guide themselves towards life circumstances worth living.