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An international study that shows a 26-per-cent decline in B.C.’s suicide rate during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic must be viewed carefully, say experts who fear the pandemic’s worst impacts on mental health have yet to be seen.
It is not uncommon for suicide rates to decrease in the face of challenging situations, only to be followed by an uptick later, said Emily Jenkins, an assistant professor in the University of B.C.’s School of Nursing.
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Deaths from suicide either stayed the same or dropped in 21 high- and upper-middle-income countries, including a handful of American states, in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic compared with expected levels, according to an analysis of preliminary data.
In fact, in 12 countries or areas, there was statistical evidence of a decrease from what was expected based on pre-pandemic years, reported Jane Pirkis, PhD, director of the Centre for Mental Health at the University of Melbourne, and colleagues.
The 12 areas that saw a decrease in suicides were California, Illinois, and Texas in the U.S.; New South Wales, Australia; Alberta and British Columbia, Canada; Chile; Leipzig, Germany; Japan; New Zealand; South Korea; and Ecuador, they noted in
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Bill C-7, new legislation governing medical assistance in dying, has been working its way through the Senate and the House of Commons. The bill is intended to extend eligibility for assisted dying to people whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable, in compliance with a 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling.(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)