Introduction
Public policy should address the issues which demand a considerable amount of resources. Among the problems that deserve attention, the question of suicide prevention is of particular interest. The current paper investigates a suicide prevention program and identifies the factors influencing its implementation and functioning within the institutional theory. The theory draws attention to the role of organizations in social and political processes. In this approach, each institution is considered as an individual unit that determines the behavior of people. The current assignment analyzes how institutional theory provides a modern perspective on suicide prevention programs.
Regulations of suicide prevention
Much effort was aimed at using regulations of suicide prevention by making organizations eliminate potential suicidal tools. For example, firearms were proven to be often used because of their public availability, and organizations had to limit access to them (Wilcox & Wyman, 2016). Moreover, there is a high risk of suicide in hospitals and clinics because the clients often experience life-threatening and hardly tolerable states (Wilson et al, 2019). That is why the medical staff is required to possess the knowledge and skills of suicide prevention regardless of their medical specialization.
World Health Organization (WHO) presents a special interest group and a principal stakeholder in the context of suicide prevention. WHO investigates the factors, which facilitate and inhibit suicidal behavior, and makes the results public. For instance, the organization has recently requested an additional regulation of pesticide use because they are a reliable means of death (Eddleston & Gunnell, 2020). Thus, WHO can influence the issue significantly as a special interest group because it is an internationally accredited and acknowledged organization.
The suicide prevention policy had to face some factors inhibiting the implementation process. Religious institutions tend to taboo suicide and treat it as a sin, which leads to inertness in public perception of the problem because people refuse to discuss it. Consequently, the issue is ignored rather than being solved or at least considered. It is hardly likely that policies and regulations can influence religious institutions, especially because of the authority of the latter among many groups of society. Some failures of suicide prevention policies may, therefore, be explained by a notable role of some conservative organizations.
The prevention program has started to pay attention to young adults. Initially, it focused on secondary prevention, accessing the groups who had shown suicidal behavior, but this strategy could not prevent or predict the first attempts to kill oneself (Wilcox & Willman, 2016). Many people perform suicidal actions during studying at school because of emotional and cognitive instability at this age. That is why real prevention should address schools, colleges, and other educational institutions to establish effective prevention.
However, contributing to public awareness of suicidal risk should be wise. It was shown that examples of suicidal behavior correlated with outbreaks of new attempts (Wilcox & Willman, 2016). The media organizations must not abuse the public interest in news of suicide, and institutional theory can effectively address this question. For example, a collaboration of media and health organizations can provide responsible sources of information and education for society. Thus, the facilitation of inter-organizational communication and promoting collaborative practices may affect public opinion and lead to awareness increase.
The elite theory
Furthermore, the elite theory would argue that research and adequate medical staff education need resources and recognizable crediting rather than organizational engagement. According to this theory, the necessary step is to find sponsors to provide all facilities. This approach would bring resources, but it is not likely to change the actual behavior of people. Suicidal tendency needs direct addressing and educated organizational principles to maintain a healthy and friendly environment in society. Therefore, the institutional theory is more effective because it provides an understanding of specific organizational processes that can influence individual behavior.
Responsibility for the public health
Regulations within institutions are likely to influence people’s attitudes and behavior. That is why the policy should take into account organizational psychology to reach personality. If each institution is responsible for the public health of the people within the organization, then the policy does not need to address each person directly. Therefore, policy development and strategy planning within the institutional theory ensure optimal decision-making.
Institutions should be included in the context of the issue, and their activity should be facilitated. Otherwise, it is not relevant to them, and their influence will not be controlled, which potentially leads to the usage of resources against the policy. However, research is needed to investigate the exact impact of uninterested groups on policy implementation. This point can be a proposition of further directions for the policy.
Conclusion
To conclude, the institutional theory provides a productive perspective on the suicide prevention policy. It addresses organizations as units with a particular role in the issue. Moreover, this approach allows seeing the general ways of coordination of the institutions rather than aiming at an abstract society or each person individually. The elite theory can also be applied at the first stages of the policy implementation, but the institutional theory should hold the key role in changing behavior.
References
Eddleston, M., & Gunnell, D. (2020). Preventing suicide through pesticide regulation. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(1), 9-11.
Wilcox, H. C., & Wyman, P. A. (2016). Suicide Prevention Strategies for Improving Population Health. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 25(2), 219–233.
Wilson, M. P., Moutier, C., Wolf, L., Nordstrom, K., Schulz, T., & Betz, M. E. (2019). Emergency department recommendations for suicide prevention in adults: The ICAR2E mnemonic and a systematic review of the literature. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine, in press.