September 10th is the World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD); a day set by The International Association for Suicide Prevention and WHO.
 
The purposes of World Suicide Prevention Day are finding ways to prevent suicides and raise awareness of the danger of suicide on a national level.
 
However, according to the world map by WHO that shows a ratio of suicide rates, the suicide rate of Asia including South Korea was higher than any other country. Particularly, the suicide rate of South Korea was 28.4%, the highest rate amongst OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries and a rate higher than even the average rate of 11.2%. When we piece these figures together, we can say without doubt that the suicide problem is serious in South Korea.
 
Fortunately, the Ministry of Health and Welfare recognized the danger of a suicide problem and took measures to alleviate the matter. They have introduced "2011-2020 National Health Promotion Comprehensive Plan" as a solution. The implementation of mental health checkups on a national level has been announced last June; so far it has been treated as a concrete solution among other alternatives. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, this plan will go into effect in 2013. So what is the National Mental Health Checkup?
 
What is the National Mental Health Checkup?
→How to get checkups: fill out a survey via mail.
→ When: two times for pre-school and elementary students, one time for middle and high school students, three times for those in their twenties, and two times for every age group over thirties.
 
The purpose of this policy is to actively solve mental health problems related to suicide. In South Korea, because of the prejudice on mental illnesses, the rate of people seeking help at medical institutions is lower than any other diseases. In fact, only 10% of mental illness patients use the medical service. Therefore, the government hopes to eliminate bias and enhance the accessibility of medical care through this policy.
 
However, most people argue that although the purpose of this policy is good, the biggest problem is that there are not enough professional advice. They insist that suicide has many reasons. They believe, “If the government is hoping to decrease the rate of suicide, they should try to get as much professional advice as possible when making a policy." Then what other problems exist?
 
Objectivity& Accuracy
Some people question the objectivity and accuracy of the checkup. They believe that a checkup via mail will not ensure the two aforementioned factors.
 
Think about surveys you had to take in school. Often, teachers require students to fill out the survey. Several students write false answers because they know the purpose of the surveys. There are two reasons to this behavior- either they are worried about the results if they are true to themselves, or they do not want to show who they are. Consequently, the results of the survey are not accurate. The Same can be applied to the case of checkups. Checkups via mail cannot accurately determine mental illness patients.
 
Human rights problem & leakage of personal information.
 
South America has a higher rate of mental illness patients than South Korea; however they have not implemented national checkups. Checkups on a national level violates human rights and opens up possibilities of the leakage of personal information.
 
 In the case of countries overseas, various specialists work together to overcome the problem. We, South Korea, should learn from how other countries deal with this issue. Before enforcing the policy, we should solve the four problems previously mentioned. Let's put it concretely.
 
Objectivity & Accuracy
-> Using Shessay (shessay is a writing style that is between short answer and essay)
Of course, multiple choice surveys are easy to write and collect statistics. They are also cheaper than the Shessay way of diagnosis. However, they are also just as likely to misjudge a healthy person as a mental illness patient.
 
Human rights abuse & leakage of personal information.
-> Using direct connection to notify the result of the checkups.
It will be better to notify the result through the phone or registered mail than notify it through the postal service. This is to prevent theft and loss problems that may occur through postal services.
 
Apart from checkups, there are some ways to decrease the rate of suicide: enhancing self-respect, regaining one's mental serenity by meditating, and educating to prevent suicide. If these solutions are included in the curriculum, it will be effective.
This suicide problem has been nuisance for a long time; hence it is about time the government solves this matter. The government should work towards creating a more complete policy.
There aren’t many actions we can do to contribute to this policy-making. Thus we cannot but wait for a better and more sound policy.
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