section_path: Prevention
section_name: Prevention
paragraph_text: Prevention
  
  Suicide prevention is a term used for the collective efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide through preventive measures. Protective factors for suicide include support, and access to therapy. About 60% of people with suicidal thoughts do not seek help. Reasons for not doing so include low perceived need, and wanting to deal with the problem alone. Despite these high rates, there are few established treatments available for suicidal behavior.
  
  Reducing access to certain methods, such as access to firearms or toxins such as opioids and pesticides, can reduce risk of suicide by that method. Reducing access to easily-accessible methods of suicide may make impulsive attempts less likely to succeed. Other measures include reducing access to charcoal (for burning) and adding barriers on bridges and subway platforms. Treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, depression, and those who have attempted suicide in the past, may also be effective. Some have proposed reducing access to alcohol as a preventive strategy (such as reducing the number of bars).
  
  In young adults who have recently thought about suicide, cognitive behavioral therapy appears to improve outcomes. School-based programs that increase mental health literacy and train staff have shown mixed results on suicide rates. Economic development through its ability to reduce poverty may be able to decrease suicide rates. Efforts to increase social connection, especially in elderly males, may be effective. In people who have attempted suicide, following up on them might prevent repeat attempts. Although crisis hotlines are common, there is little evidence to support or refute their effectiveness. Preventing childhood trauma provides an opportunity for suicide prevention. The World Suicide Prevention Day is observed annually on 10 September with the support of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization.