THEMATIC CONFERENCE: PREVENTION OF DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE
Budapest. 10th-11th December 2009
Together with four other thematic events, this second European Commission Thematic Conference is a key element in the implementation of the European Pact for Mental Health and Well-being, addressing the transversal theme of prevention of depression and suicide. The conference has been organised by the European Commission and Hungarian Ministry of Health.
The conference pursued three objectives:
- To raise visibility about the importance of preventing depression and suicide across Member States.
- To enable and encourage an exchange at EU-level on policy activities, good practices by stakeholders and research projects in European Member States, supported by the EU Compass - Commission database;
- To discuss and endorse an implementation framework for the Mental Health Pact in the field of prevention of depression and suicide.
The conference focused on 7 sub-themes or implementation domains:
- Strategies, policy frameworks and targets;
- Addressing determinants and risk factors;
- Mainstreaming mental health in health disciplines;
- Building partnerships in other sectors;
- Access to healthcare;
- e-Health, internet and media;
- Research and the knowledge base.
A variety of presentations were invited from a variety of actors such as EU and member state representatives, directors of programmes and projects, practitioners and service users or those with an experiential perspective, as well as researchers in the field.
The preparatory process towards the conference:
- Consultative Advisory Committee: The preparations for the conference involved researchers, Member States and relevant stakeholder organisations, guided by DG SANCO and the Hungarian Ministry of Health and with consultative support from an Advisory Committee, consisting of major EU-level actors in prevention of depression and suicide.
- Conference documentation: Background document in Prevention of Depression and Suicide and Database of Good Practice: The conference moved forward from the Consensus Paper "Prevention of Depression and Suicide" prepared for the 2008 high-level conference. On the basis of this paper, and in consultation with the advisory committee, the IMPACT consortium expert prepared a Background Document for the Conference and key messages and actions for implementation. This document drew together the main principles and options for action, within the 7 sub-themes of the conference, which can be taken in the prevention of depression and suicide. This “framework” complements the discussion on preventing of depression and suicide developed in the consensus paper by adding the implementation dimension.
A new section was added to the EU Compass database of good practices and policies, which is being populated as part of an ongoing process in parallel with the thematic event and afterwards.
Outcomes from the Thematic Conference
- Several key messages and priorities were evident in discussions at the conference:
- Depression is a major public health priority for our time in Europe
- Primary prevention of depression is possible and starts with positive childhood experiences and environments
- Stigma is a major challenge which must be tackled in the effective prevention of depression and suicide
- The internet and new communicative technologies present valuable opportunities for cost effective treatment and prevention.
More information can be found on the EC mental health pages for this event: http://ec.europa.eu/health/mental_health/events/ev_20091210_en.htm
the Thematic Conferences in Mental Health for the European Commission, DG SANCO.
The Consortium is lead by the Department of Health, Government of Catalonia (Gencat), working in collaboration with the
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the London School of Economics (LSEE),
the Scottish Development Centre for Mental Health (SDC) and the Research Institute of the Red Cross (FRK).
