The Department of Psychiatry, Yokohama City University School of Medicine has started the "Kanagawa Prefectural School Suicide Countermeasure Support Project", which offers online courses to junior high and high school teachers in Kanagawa Prefecture for the purpose of preventing child suicide.Assistant Professor Hidehito Miyazaki will play a central role in explaining the psychology of children who think about suicide three times every two years and preventive measures that can be implemented at school.
According to Yokohama City University, there are three types of online courses, 3 minutes each.In the psychiatric section, the treatment and prognosis of the brain and mental state and mental illness related to suicide, in the psychological support section, the psychological background and actual response of the child who thinks about suicide, and in the social support section, the school is based on the suicide comprehensive measures outline. I will explain the suicide prevention that can be done with.The first lecture has already been completed, but Yokohama City University is always looking for additional participating schools.
The number of children with mental health problems is increasing rapidly due to the spread of the new coronavirus.According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 2021 children and students committed suicide between January and July 1.The breakdown is 7 elementary school students, 270 junior high school students, and 7 high school students.It is 75 more than the same period in 188, which was the highest number in the year.
It is said that the end of summer vacation is the time when children's suicides increase, but the knowledge and experience of school teachers regarding suicide prevention is not sufficient.For this reason, in the support project, we decided to hold an online course with school teachers to establish knowledge about suicide and eliminate prejudice with the aim of reducing the risk of children's suicide.