ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CHANGES IN PSYCHIATRIC-SERVICES AND INCREASES IN SUICIDE RATES

There may be an association between changes in the psychiatric services offered by the largest psychiatric hospital in Iceland during the period 1955-1978 and changes in the rate of suicide. Marked changes occurred in the services after 1965. The rate of suicide in the patient population was significantly higher during 1965-1978 than during 1955-1964. The changes in the psychiatric services are apparently associated with an increase in the rate of suicide and this increase may to some extent be a side effect of therapeutic methods introduced after 1965. The conclusion is thought to imply the necessity for further evaluation of those therapeutic methods as applied in the hospital and increasing the application of measures for the prevention of suicide.