Maori suicide prevention in New Zealand

This paper reminds us that suicide is a major issue for maori and suggests that the national suicide prevention strategy is somewhat limited in application to the Maori community. "In Our Hands" and "Kia Piki Te Ora O Te Taitamariki" are the two parts of the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. They have a set of broad goals and objectives, which together form a comprehensive but far too narrowly targeted approach to reducing suicide in Aotearoa/New Zealand. In order to identify trends in Maori suicide and the age structure of suicide epidemiology, New Zealand Health Information Service data from 1980 to 1998 were examined. The trend was for a gradual but significant increase in annual numbers of Maori suicides over this period. Overall, numbers of Maori suicides have trebled in the last two decades. Age structure of Maori suicide is different from non-Maori in that the age of peak incidence for Maori is more broadly based at 15-44 years of age than the 15-24 age of peak incidence for the non-Maori population. This should be reflected in the national suicide prevention strategy.