In our first edition of the journal in 2026, we have articles from a range of countries including England, Portugal, the USA, Nepal and Malaysia. This issue has a particular focus on suicide as a public mental health concern. We explore suicide and suicidal ideations from different perspectives including lived experience perspectives through to secondary data analysis. We have four articles which seek to understand suicide trends but place particular focus upon prevention.In our opening paper, Loredana Gogoescu and colleagues synthesise qualitative literature to explore protective factors for suicide amongst young people, which is an increasing public health issue. They identify caring social connections, personal insights and social purpose as areas that may be protective and which we need to understand in more depth.However, we are also aware that suicide can be a deeply stigmatised issue. This can vary across different countries and cultures and has a history of being criminalised as a form of structural stigma. In this case, help-seeking can be inhibited where stigma is high. Sook Ning Chua with colleagues in Harvard and Malaysia explored help-seeking in Malaysia for those who have had suicidal ideations or attempts. They found that family support, positive experiences of services and availability of services encourage help-seeking at points of crisis. Barriers include high self-stigma, negative experiences of healthcare in the past and worry about burdening others. This offers emerging tentative evidence of the need for national anti-suicide initiatives in Malaysia where suicide has been recently decriminalised.In our next article, Caroline Wright and colleagues examine ONS data of over 22,000 people who died by suicide in England. They examined place of death with associated demographic variables and highlighted how most deaths occurred in the home (over 60%), especially for older people and females, with further associations for those experiencing deprivation or living in rural areas. The implication of this work is that more granular research on suicide data will help to develop more bespoke and localised suicide prevention interventions and policies.Our final study centres on suicide is an examination of suicidal ideations amongst secondary school pupils in Nepal. This study found that over 13% of pupils reported suicidal ideation, and this was greatest among females, those in certain social and ethnic groups and those who reported poor school environment. These factors may also reflect common issues such as poverty. Findings suggest that social and school-based interventions may well play a role in improving public mental health in Nepal and other low-income countries.Beyond our focus on suicide prevention, we have four further articles examining critical issues in public mental health, including in the UK, the USA and Portugal. These contributions explore themes of recovery, stigma reduction, equity in mental health services and nation-wide approaches to public mental health.The article by Taiki Matsuura and colleagues at Yale considers the importance of religion and spirituality in supporting recovery for those who experience more severe and enduring mental ill health in the USA. Amongst a sample of over 100 veterans, 37% expressed support for the inclusion of religion and spirituality in programmes that are supporting recovery. This can provide a community that is non-stigmatising and a community of support that is uplifting.There are strong links to the next article by Tania Alves and Luiz Madeira in Portugal. Recovery and stigma are closely linked, and in particular, stigma amongst health professionals can damage recovery prospects. This research with 1,441 emergency professionals (85% of whom were police officers) indicates that positively they report lower overall stigma or shame than the general population, but that stigmatising constructs such as pity and coercion remain significant. It may indicate that social attitudes are improving in a positive direction in some contexts.Artin Mahdanian next explores equity, diversity and inclusion policies in mental health services and care. This article explores the benefits and challenges that arise in EDI implementation in mental health and some of the conceptual challenges around this. Benefits including reduced disparities, enhanced psychological safety and trust can be built upon whilst avoiding polarisation and tokenistic practice. Moreover, there is a clear need for more rigorous outcome-based measures.Finally, Jude Stansfield and colleagues at the Centre for Mental Health and in Public Health identify learning from England’s national public mental health programme between 2013 and 2021. They applied a health policy analysis triangle t o feedback from key stakeholders. Amongst several real strengths, they point to the need for more meaningful coproduction and more consistent action on social determinants going forward.Collectively, these articles demonstrate the breadth and complexity of public mental health. Ranging from understanding suicide prevention across diverse cultural contexts to addressing stigma, promoting recovery and advancing national prevention policies. This issue offers evidence, insights and many positive directions.
Lee Knifton (Wed,) studied this question.