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Many western countries have experienced increased rates of youth suicide over recent years. This has been an issue of particular concern in New Zealand, since it had the highest rate of youth suicide among OECD countries in the mid-1990s. However, while attention is drawn to the now declining youth suicide rate by politicians and policy-makers, what is obscured is a cohort effect. In this paper we will argue that a cohort effect is clearly visible; suicide rates among 15-24 year olds came to the fore in the mid-1980s, peaking 10 years later, and were displaced by that among 25-35 year olds by the late-1990s. Further, this century has been characterised by the rise of suicide rates among 35-44 year olds. This effect correlates with a dramatic downturn in the New Zealand economy in a five-year period bracketing 1970. We argue for an increased focus on social and economic factors underlying suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of a pandemic engages multiple sites where previously settled or uncontroversial understandings may be transformed by global and domestic forces. This article examines the iconography of social distancing implicated in the discourses of 'quarantine' and 'risk control' in public health, and the tension between scientific and popular media readings of the contours of acceptable public health models for managing particular pandemics. The role of culture in shaping and reshaping borders at an operational level is explored as a basis for explaining the apparent paradoxes in the way historic and contemporary pandemics are actually managed, and the different ways particular pandemics are framed. The article argues that a rational-scientific approach to pandemic management is insufficient and that a more nuanced socio-political blend of science, culture and public perceptions offers a more substantial basis for public health policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dominant understandings of suicide have privileged the professional observations of health professionals and sociologists over the lived experiences of persons who have reported feeling suicidal. The current study explores what it is like to feel suicidal by examining comments posted voluntarily in an online forum. Adopting an inductive thematic analysis, a number of themes were uncovered which shed light on the following questions: Who has suicidal thoughts? What triggers suicidal thoughts? What is it like to feel suicidal? Also drawn from the data, was information relating to the types of treatments that people received, as well as ongoing survival strategies that people have relied on. The findings indicated people with suicidal thoughts form a heterogeneous group with mixed opinions about the causes of suicidal thoughts. The findings also highlighted a variety of experiences, descriptions and means for survival highlighting the depth of insight that those with first-hand experience have about suicidal thoughts, highlighting also the deep gap in knowledge and understanding in the existing literature about suicide and suicidal ideation. The recommendations for future direction in practice and research include, listening to, and valuing more, the voices and perspectives of suicidal people themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]