Jessica A. Anthony, BSc, MAS

Research Projects Coordinator- Guyana Mental Health & Well-Being Projects

​

​

Guyana Well-Being Study Overview

October 21^st, 2022

​

NIMH Funding

​

​

​

• RO1MH117360 (PI: Dr. Christina W. Hoven; MPI: Dr. George J. Musa)
• RO1MH129414 (PI: Dr. Christina W. Hoven; MPI: Dr. George J. Musa)
• D43TW012189 (PI: Dr. Christina W. Hoven)���

GWB Major Collaborators

Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health

A collaboration between:

• Guyana Ministry of Health
• Guyana Bureau of Statistics
• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
• Global Psychiatric Epidemiology Group (GPEG), �Columbia University – New York State Psychiatric Institute
• World Psychiatric Association (WPA)
• WHO Lead Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Mental Health Problems and Suicide, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden
• E. Richard Feinberg Research Institute at the Schneider Children Medical Center of Israel (SCMCI)

Team

• Dr. Christina W. Hoven, Principal Investigator
• Dr. George J. Musa, Multiple Principal Investigator
• Dr. Jenese October, Guyana Principal Investigator (Adult)
• Dr. Baressa De Clou-King, Guyana Principal Investigator (Child)
• Dr. William Adu-Krow, Co-Investigator �& Project Director
• Ms. Alicia Solomon, National Clinical Coordinator
• Ms. Jessica Anthony, Project Coordinator
• Ms. Megan Ryan, NY Project Coordinator
• Co-Investigators/Key Personnel: �Dr. Larry Amsel, Dr. Michaeline Bresnahan, �Dr. Qixuan Chen, Dr. Ellen-ge Denton, Mr. Errol La Cruez
• Other Key Personnel: �Ms. Judith Wicks, Ms. Justine Wright, Ms. Yi Ju Hsu

​

​

Nationally Representative Study �to Determine Prevalence and Risk Factors

Guyana: Comprehensive Longitudinal Examination of the Complex Ways in which Key Risk Factors at both the Individual and Community Level Interact

Giada Kuka, �Age 10 Albania

Suicide

• More than 700,000 people die �by suicide every year �(a person every 40 seconds)¹
• 18th leading cause of death in 2019 �(USA = 10^th)¹
• 4th leading cause of death in 15-19-year-olds¹
• The real number is higher
• Hidden in other causes of death �(e.g., traffic crashes, etc.)
• Religion/beliefs result in misclassification
• 77% of all suicides are in low- and middle-income countries ¹
• More than 20 attempts for every death by suicide¹

¹WHO Suicide Data, 2019; ²Preventing Suicide: A global imperative; WHO, 2015)

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/mental-health/suicide/infographics-suicide.pdf

Suicide is NOT Equally Distributed

• Social, economic, cultural and environmental deprivation and disadvantage increase risk of suicide.

​

• Gender Differences

​

• Measures to prevent suicide generally fail to address the unequal distribution.

Suicide in Young Persons Globally

• 2^nd leading cause of death in 15−29-year-olds � (8.5% of all deaths)

​

• Crude Rates per 100,000 for 15-29 year-olds:
• 5.2 France; 17.7 USA;
• 13.5 Japan; 16.9 S. Korea
• 19.4 Russia;
• 58.2 Guyana (second highest in the world, 2019)

WHO Suicide Data, 2019

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/mental-health/�suicide/infographics-suicide.pdf

Crude Rates�(per 100k):

• 5.2 France
• 13.5 Japan
• 16.9 S. Korea
• 17.7 USA
• 19.4 Russia
• 58.2 Guyana

​

WHO Suicide Data, 2019

Guyana

Suriname

Suicide Mortality Rank (Both Sexes) by Year for �CARICOM Member Countries*, 2009-2019

* Dominica & Montserrat Not Available

WHO, 2019

Guy.

Sur.

Suicide Rates �(per 100,000) in Guyana, 2020

Data Source: Guyana Ministry of Health, 2021

Guyana Death by Suicide Gender and Ethnicity, 2020

Gender

Ethnicity

Data Source: Guyana Ministry of Health, 2021

Guyana Suicide Crude Death Rates (per 100,000) by Age�(2020)

Guyana Death by Suicide Method, 2020

Guyana Well-Being (GWB) Study: �Great Promise to �Provide Insights into Suicide Risk

Objective: To go beyond traditional research of suicide risk factors, to conduct a deep exploration of the individual’s lived experience and their context and how these can drive suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

GWB Study Sample Designs�(N=10,800)

• A comprehensive suicide study with three integrated study samples:�
• A Nationally Representative Community Cohort Sample (CSS): �Baseline Assessment (N=9,000) with Two Longitudinal Follow-ups to determine prevalence and risk factors of suicidal behaviors.

​

• Clinical Attempters Sample (CAS): �Conduct the same assessments as in the CSS with every suicide attempter that clinically presents at a Guyanese hospital/clinic/crisis center (N~1,668). �
• Loss Survivors (Psychological Autopsy) Sample (PAS): �Conduct a Psychological Autopsy with the same assessments of the CCS,�with a subsample of families who experienced a loss to suicide (N~132).

​

• Collect and biobank saliva, for future DNA analysis.

2021

2022

https://www.facebook.com/Guyana-Mental-Health-and-Well-being-Conference-100872559057631/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTK1pyh_pmqvM5wePJ10EA

Thank You!

​

​

​

​

​

​

Jessica A. Anthony

Jessica.a.anthony@gmail.com

+592 651-6558