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Sociology of Health - Mental Health, AIDS, Drugs, Suicide, Death

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The sociology of health - The social science of wellbeing and health (or just wellbeing health sociology), inspects the collaboration among society and wellbeing. The goal of this topic is to perceive how public activity influences horribleness and death rate, AIDS and HIV, Drugs, Suicide, Death and Dying.

Health

Mental Health

AIDS and HIV

Drugs

Suicide

Death and Dying

Health

A

Medical sociology provides an analytical framework for understanding the social contexts of health, illness and health care. Central topics include the subjective experience of health and illness, political, economic and environmental circumstances fostering ill health; and societal forces constraining the medical care system and individuals’ responses to illness.

 

  • Anthropology
    Publications about intercultural contexts and representations of chronic illness, specially in West-Africa, in a historical perspective: textes, bibliographies and maps on-line. Editor: A.Bargès, University of Tours (France).
  • Autoimmune Disease and Pregnancy Guide
    An educational site that offers support for mothers-to-be battling autoimmune diseases while pregnant or trying to get pregnant.
  • Autoimmune Disease Guide - Del-Immune V
    Every year millions of people are diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. Causes are difficult to pinpoint and there’s a lot we don&@146;t know about autoimmune disease. The term autoimmune disease actually refers to a group of 80 to 100 distinct disorders ranging from commonly known conditions like Multiple Sclerosis and Chron’s Disease to the rare and little-known disorders such as Relapsing Polychondritis and Paraneoplastic Cerebellar Degeneration. They all involve the body attacking its own tissue in some manner, but vary drastically in specific signs and symptoms — as well as the severity of the impact on the patient’s daily life and longevity.
  • Autoimmune Disorders - MedlinePlus
    An autoimmune disorder occurs when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys healthy body tissue by mistake. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune disorders. Information about causes, symptoms, exams & tests, and treatment.

B

Bradby, Hannah

C

  • Cancer Research UK
    Information on cancer: facts, treatments, clinical trials, and a forum.
  • Care Net Holland (CNH)
    Health information and services in the Netherlands.
  • Center for the Study of Society & Medicine (CSSM) - Columbia University, New York, USA
    An interdisciplinary faculty applying history, sociology, literature, and philosophy to analyze clinical practices and biomedical research to broaden medical school curricula and inform public policy.
  • Collyer, Fran - University of Sydney, Australia
    • [2010] The Sociology of Health and Medicine in Australia
      In: Revistas Científicas Complutenses
      An analysis of the development and institutionalisation of the sociology of health and medicine in Australia. As a former British colony, sociology was primarily brought into the country with its British and European migrants, and developed in a series of six discrete stages: the formative years of the Colonial period and early decades after Federation; the period of inter-disciplinarity and collaboration in the 1950s and early 60s; a stage of intensification and organisation from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s; the years of institutional growth and specialisation in the 1980s; a decade of both consolidation and fragmentation during the 1990s; and, in the first ten years of the new century, a time of internationalisation. The formation and growth of the sociology of health and medicine has closely followed the developmental trajectory of the parent discipline, but unlike the latter, has more permeable disciplinary boundaries.
    • [2012] Mapping the Sociology of Health and Medicine: America, Britain and Australia Compared
      Palmgrave Macmillan.
    • [2015] (ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Social Theory in Health, Illness and Medicine
      Offers a new perspective on the sociology of health, illness and medicine by stressing the importance of social theory, and giving due attention to theorists often overlooked in the healthcare field. Leading international sociologists from Europe, America, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada investigate the key concepts and theories of a single theorist, looking at the way their ideas such as medicalisation, reflexivity, capitalism, hegemonic masculinity, the biomedical model and social stigma can be used to understand specific health issues including men’s health, Indigenous health, disability, the health professions and chronic illness.
  • Combined Health Information Database (CHID) 
    A unified database of bibliographic records from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the USA. The databases can be searched individually or at once, ranging from AIDS Education and Alzheimers Disease to Cancer Prevention and Weight Control. Users can browse the information or search the databases with a simple or detailed interface.

D

E

European Society of Health and Medical Sociology (ESHMS)
A forum for the discussion of health issues by scientists in the field of sociology & public health; it collates and synthesizes knowledge and experience across European countries; and it creates opportunities for research and for participation in international cooperation and planning. ESHMS is an independent organization whose membership is open to persons resident or working in Europe who work as sociologists, applying sociological paradigms and methodology to health issues. It organizes regular scientific meetings of the membership to review the state of European knowledge on selected topics, and periodic summer schools for members and students. The association participates in European discussions and activities concerned with health policy, health planning and health service development.

F

Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness (SHI)
SHI promotes and improves social scientific research, education and scholarship in the field of the sociology of health and illness.

G

GGD Amsterdam
Information about public health care in Amsterdam.

H

  • Health Disparities
    The Health Disparities Project of SIC (Committee for Institutional Cooperation) addresses some of the social determinants of health, which are believed to play a much bigger role in health outcomes than medical care. The project seeks to create an infrastructure to develop and foster collaborations at the system level with the goal of: Developing data around disparities; Identifying appropriate interventions, and Implementing relevant interventions to eliminate or reduce disparities and advance health equity.
  • HealthFinder
    Consumer healthcare information from the U.S. Government, with selected online publications, databases, web sites and support groups.
  • Health Science Center Libraries - University of Florida, USA 
    Collection of links from a virtual library.
  • Horobin, Gordon
    [2008] Medical sociology in Britain: true confessions of an empiricist
    In: Sociolgy of Health & Illness, 7(1)
  • Human Anatomy System
    An educational site that is interactive and intended for non-technical audiences. It includes hundreds of graphics, educational information and animations.

I

International Diabetes Federation (IDF)
The mission of the IDF is to promote diabetes care, prevention and a cure worldwide.

J

Journals and Magazines

  • Health and Social Sciences (HSS) [full text]
    An international, peer-reviewed, open access journal related to health and social sciences. HSS aspires to provide interdisciplinary exchange of views of scientists from around the world, aimed on the growth of modern man, where the focus is «health» as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infermity” [WHO].
  • Health Sociology Review (HSR)
    An international peer-reviewed journal, which publishes high quality conceptual and empirical research in the sociology of health, illness and medicine. Published three times per year, the journal includes original research papers, critical reviews, book reviews, and special issues on matters of central importance to health sociology and related fields.
  • Medical Sociology online
    The archive of the Medical Sociology Newsletter (MSN) and Medical Sociology online (MSo), the former 'free access' journal of the British Sociological Association Medical Sociology Group
  • Social History of Medicine
    A journal concerned with all aspects of health, illness, and medical treatment in the past. It publishes work on the social history of medicine from a variety of disciplines. Also provides access to a variety of other information relating to the medical sociology community, including news, announcements, recently published books, videos and links to other relevant sites.
  • Social Science & Medicine
    An international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of social science research on health. It publishes original research articles (both empirical and theoretical), reviews, position papers and commentaries on health issues.
  • Social Theory & Health (STH)
    By providing a forum for academics and practitioners to engage with the theoretical development of the health debate, STH aims to develop the theoretical underpinnings of health research and service delivery.
  • Sociology of Health & Illness [abstracts]
    Published in association with the Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness (SHI).

K

L

  • Landelijke Vereniging voor GGD’en
    National society for public health care in the Netherlands.
  • Lin, Kuo-Ming - Yale University, USA
    [1993] The Shaping of a Discipline: The Case of Medical Sociology in the United States, 1950s - 1980s 
    Shows the development of medical sociology in the United States as an exemplary case illustrating how an intellectual activity became an established special field, a field which became full-fledged in the 1950s and is fully institutionalized today. During four decades, medical sociology experienced dramatic growth. Nevertheless, it had to overcome the disdain and suspicion of colleagues both within the discipline of sociology and within medicine. The paper addresses issues about the factors that lead to grow and institutionalization of the field, its major themes and changing terrains, and how the developmental trends and present status of medical sociology have been shaped.

M

Medical Sociology Departments

N

National Cancer Institute - USA
Credible, current and comprehensive cancer information. Information on types of cancer, treatment options, clinical trials, causes & prevention, testing for cancer, coping with cancer, and support groups.

R

Repetitive Strain Injury (R.S.I.) 

W

Z

  • Zorg Mediatheek
    A documentation-center, specialized on homecare in the Netherlands. Annotated links to services and pages with links relevant to homecare.

Mental Health

AIDS and HIV

  • ÆGIS - AIDS Education Global Information System
    Claims to be the largest HIV knowlegdebase in the world: 3.2 GB of information in 360.000+ documents. ÆGIS is fully indexed and searchable. Compiled by: Sister Mary Elizabeth Clark
  • AIDS Book Review Journal
    An electronic journal reviewing books, videos, journal titles, and other materials covering AIDS, safer sex, sexually transmitted diseases, and other related materials, published irregularly by the University of Illinois at Chicago Library.
  • AIDS Care
    Psychological and socio-medical aspects of AIDS/HIV. A forum for publishing research and reports from the many complementary disciplines involved in the HIV/AIDS field. This peer-reviewed journal is supported by an International Editorial Board.
  • AidsMap 
    AidsMap tries to change lives by sharing information about HIV and AIDS. Having independent, clear and accurate information is vital in the fight against HIV and AIDS. It enables individuals and communities affected by HIV to protect themselves, care for others, advocate for better services and challenge stigma and discrimination.
  • The Body: The Complete HIV/AIDS Resource 
    A large collection of resources related to AIDS and HIV. Information on AIDS basics & prevention, treatments, and conferences. Presented by the Body Health Resources Corporation (BHRC).
  • HIV/AIDS Agenda
    News and information on HIV/Aids, published by the Office of Communications, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
  • HISVST
    Online center for public health research, documentation and policies regarding HIV self-testing. HIV self-testing is the process in which a person who wants to know their HIV status performs a HIV test and interprets the result in private. HIVST is generally performed using rapid test kits, such as tests which use fingerstick or oral-fluid. HIVST does not provide a diagnosis. All reactive (positive) self-test results need to be confirmed according to national algorithms.
  • HIV Testing 
    A site designed to provide information to people in our society who may have the AIDS virus, or who might suspect that they have caught the virus. It also provides the opportunity for people to discretely purchase a in home AIDS testing kit. This makes it less embarrassing than sneaking through the drug store to purchase the same kits, but can be done from the comfort and privacy of your on home.
  • ILO - International Labor Organization
    HIV/AIDS and the World of Work Branch (ILOAIDS)
    On this page the International Labour Organization presents many interesting discussion papers, reports, and fact sheets on HIF/AIDS in the context of the world of work. Those infected with HIV/AIDS often have their human and social righs violated on the sole basis of their known or presumed HIV/AIDS status. The ILO publications concentrate on the economic and social impact of HIV/AIDS, with emphasis on the work force, employees, and organizations.
    • [2001] ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work
      The code provides invaluable practical guidance to policy-makers, employers’ and workers’ organizations and other social partners for formulating and implementing appropriate workplace policy, prevention and care programmes, and for establishing strategies to address workers in the informal sector.
    • [2003] 
      A valuable educational and training tool, this comprehensive manual offers practical guidance for formulating viable policies and programmes to combat HIV/AIDS in the world of work. Aimed at protecting the rights and dignity of workers, their families, and all people living with HIV/AIDS, the education and training material provided here can be applied to all sectors, public and private, formal and informal.
    • [2010] Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work
      The first international labour standard on HIV and AIDS in the world of work, was adopted by governments, employers’ and workers’ representatives from ILO member States at the International Labour Conference in June 2010.
    • [2015] Effective responses to HIV and AIDS at work: A multi-country study in Africa
      A comprehensive assessment of the characteristics that make HIV and AIDS workplace initiatives effective. The study compiles the results of research conducted between January 2013 and October 2014 in public, private, formal and informal workplaces across 10 African countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia.
    • [2015] AIDS is Everyone's Business!
      This publication is a collection of messages of support of the «Getting to zero at work» campaign and the VCT@WORK initiative, received from employers' organizations and the private sector over the past three years.
  • International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC)
    The site provides specialist information on origin and forms of AIDS. An in-depth dialogue about viral load testing, the latest advance in HIV treatment and management. It includes a page on Diagnostic Technologies.
  • News Groups
  • Soa Aids Netherlands 
    Stimulates the combat against STDs and HIV and promotes sexual health.
  • UNAIDS
    The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. A global perspective on efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.
  • Wikipedia

Drugs

  • Addiction Library
    Information on several forms of addction: alcohol, illicit & legal substances, and prescription drugs. AddictionLibrary.org is part of the Florida Non-Profit, USA Addiction Treatment Partnership.
  • Amsterdam Institute for Addiction Research (AIAR)
  • Australian Drug Foundation (ADF) 
    One of Australia’s leading bodies committed to preventing alcohol and other drug problems in communities around the nation. ADF reaches millions of Australians in local communities through sporting clubs, workplaces, health care settings and schools, offering educational information, drug and alcohol prevention programs and advocating for strong and healthy communities.
  • Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA) 
    A non-profit organization working to minimize the harm associated with the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
  • Cannabis.com
    Information on marijuana and hemp. A very good faq that starts with the simple question “What’s all this fuss about hemp?” Information on activisme and politics. Biological and medical information on hemp, and the usage of cannabis. You might even want to see the pictures of proud growers, sellers or users.
  • Cannabis in France
    by: Tim Boekhout van Solinge (CEDRO - Centre for Drug Research). French version.
  • Carl E. Olsen’s Marijuana Archive
  • Central Narcotic Bureau (NCB) - Singapore 
    CNB’s mission is to keep Singapore free from drugs and inhalant abuse.
  • Centre for Drug Research / Centrum voor Drugsonderzoek (CEDRO)
    The second largest drug research site in Europe, from the University of Amsterdam. It provides research findings, articles, books and statistics on drugs, drug use, drug policy and drug distribution. The most important publications are translated into French, Italian, English, German, and of late, also into Russian.
  • Consumer Dangers
    Millions of people are injured and many of them die each year due to medication errors. Consumer Dangers strives to provide a comprehensive free source for the public to learn more about everyday products that can potentially cause harm. The site is continuously updated with breaking news from Government agencies, Watchdog Groups, and concerned citizens regarding product recalls and medication safety.
  • Commonly Abused Drugs - About.com
    A substance abuse guide from About.com.
  • Drugs and Democracy
    A research programme jointly co-ordinated by the Transnational Institute (TNI) in Amsterdam and Acción Andina, through CEDIB in Bolivia. The project analyzes the political damage wreaked by the illegal drug trade and the countermeasures throughout Latin America. Over twenty researchers, spread out over 16 countries, are involved in the effort. Most of the publications will become available on this site.
  • Drugs Policy Alliance (DPA) 
    DPA tries to end to the war on drugs and promotes new drug policies based on common sense, science, public health and human rights. Drugs produce different effects and pose different risks. If tabacco or beer suddenly were unavailable it would have been as expensive as heroine. “The legal status of any given drug is not necesserily a reliable indicator of its potential for harm. Whereas marijuana has never been shown to cause an overdose death, alcohol poisoning kills more people every year than all illegal drugs combined”. The arguments are well documented. An alternative approach to drug policy and treatment is advocated. DPA focuses on minimizing the adverse effects of both drug use and drug enforcement. “Regardless of the legal stauts of any given drug, harm reduction is the appropriate response.” 
    Harm reduction is a combination of practical strategies that (i) reduce the negative consequences of drug use, (ii) incorporate a spectrum of strategies form safer use, and to (iii) manage use to abstinence. Such harm reduction strategies meet drug users ‘where they are at’ and address conditions of use along whit the use itself. The Harm Reduction Coalition learns how you can contribute to reduce the harm. The site offers a large collection of materials on drugs and drug policy, latest news headlines, discussion forums to share insights and ideas with other drug policy reform activists, tools and suggestions for ‘taking action‘ on this issue.
  • Drugs policy in the Netherlands: continuity and change - The Dutch Ministry of Health
    See also: Frans S.L. Koopmans [2011] Going Dutch: Recent drug policy developments in the Netherlands, in: The Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice.
  • Drug Prevention Guide - For The Elderly - Rehabs America
    Provides information and research on drug abuse in the elderly. It highlights some of the most recent resources as well as providing a free help line.
  • DrugText
    An electronic library on drugs and drugs policy. "What is an Overdose?". A service provided by the International Foundation on Drug Policy and Human Rights. It aims at the reduction of substance use related risks. Editor: Mario Lap.
  • DrugWatch
    An awareness group that aims to educate the public about prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and medical devices that have the potential to cause patients serious harm. The site publishes drug recall news, recent FDA approvals, drug interactions, side effects, and current developments in the medical field. Patient advocates are working with patients to help them get the treatment and care they deserve.
  • Ecstasy.org
    A collection ecstasy links, origonally edited by Nicolas Saunders, who was killed in a car accident in South Africa on february 1998. It includes a Q&A; section, articles, books, experiences and links.
  • Erowid
    A member-supported non-profit organization that provides reliable, non-judgmental information about psychoactive plants and chemicals, as well as activities (such as meditation and lucid dreaming) that can generate altered states of consciousnees. Erowid works with academic, medical and experiential experts to develop and publish new resources, as well as to improve and increase access to already existing resources.
  • European Monitoring Centre for Drug and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
    The EU drugs agency provides the Community and its Member States with objective, reliable and comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug addiction and their consqequences.
  • Institut für Sucht- und Gesundheitsforschung (ISGF) - Zürich, Switzerland
    An interdisciplinary team of addiction and health researchers transfers scientific knowledge on addiction into practice.
  • International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
    A global network of 134 NGOs that focus on issues related to drug production, trafficking and use. IDPC promotes objective and open debate on the effectiveness, direction and content of drug policies at the national and international level, and supports evidence-based policies that are effective at reducing drug-related harm. IDFC produces briefing papers, disseminates key resources on drug policy, builds the advocacy capacity of their members and partners, and offers expert advice to policy makers and officials around the world.
  • Journals and Magazines
    • Cannabis Culture Magazine
      A magazine by pot-people, for pot-people, offering information on marijuana and hemp. 3 years of magazine backissues, current pot news, grow discussion areas, a huge library, a big bud gallery and more.
    • Drug War Chronicle
    • Journal of Drug Issues (JDI) 
      A multidisciplinary, refereed journal devoted to the publication of scientific research, technical applications, policy, and other issues pertinent to the use of various biological specimens for evaluating exposure to psychoactive drugs. JDI is puublished in Association with Florida State University and The College of Criminology & Criminal Justice.
    • Journal of Global Drug Policy and Practice [full text]
  • Library of Drug Policy
    A library of drug policy presented by the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet).
  • Lycaeum, The
    The largest online drug library and community. The Lyceum promotes public education about all aspects of psychoactive drugs and drug use.
  • RX Dangers
    In Western societies a large majority of people take at least one prescription drug each month. The majority of medications are safe for consumption, but many of which have the potential to cause serious side effects. The site educates the public about all defective medical devices and dangerous medications that are available on the market today. The database is constantly being updated with drug recall news, and provides comprehensive, unbiased information about serious side effects, complications, and interactions of commonly prescribed drugs. 
  • Medical Information on Marijuana - Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
  • National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) - USA
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - USA
    Part of the National Institute of Healht (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site offers news on drugs and drug policy, research and articles on special drugs, and drugs prevention.
  • Prescription Drug Journal (PDJ)
    PJD helps people who have been injured by a pharmaceutical product. It provides breaking news and legal assistance for those seeking compensation for their injuries.
  • Psychedelic Library
    Books and research papers concerning psychedelic drugs and their uses.
  • Schaffer Library of Drug Policy
    Extensive information on the war on drugs, studies of drugs and drug policy, governmental publications, historical research, debate on drug legalization and information on specific drugs. Edited by: Cliff Schaffer.
  • Statens institutt for rusmiddelforskning (SIRUS) - Oslo
  • Trimbos-Instituut - Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, Netherlands
    Includes fact sheets on: Cannabis policy in the Netherlands; Hard drugs policy (opiates & XTC); Addiction Care & Assistance; Education prevention policy alcohol and drugs; Drugs nuisance policy. (English and Dutch versions)
  • StoptheDrugWar
    Works for an end to drug prohibition worldwide, and an end to the «drug war» in its currenct form. “We believe that much of the harm commonly attributed to "drugs" is really the result of placing drugs in a criminal environment. We believe the global drug war has fueled violence, civil instability, and public health crises; and that the currently prevalent arrest- and punishment-based policies toward drugs are unjust.” Includes the Drug War Chronicle
  • Understanding Addiction (NCADD — National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence)
    A very general explanation of the reasons why or how other people become addicted to drugs. It explicates why drug addiction is a complex disease and explains why quitting takes more than good intentions or a strong will.
  • WHO - Substance abuse
    Dealing with all psychoactive substances, regardless their legal status. Offers a useful list of topics and many orginial publications. The world drug problem constitutes a serious threat to public health and the well-being of humanity. WHO contributes to the preparations of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session to address the world drug problem (UNGASS 2016).
  • Wikipedia

Alcohol

Tobacco

  • Action on Smoking & Health (ASH)
    Organization for Nonsmokers’ Rights. ASH uses the power of the law to represent nonsmokers in courts and legislative bodies and before regulatory agencies. “If there's one group the tobacco industry fears more than any other, it’s ASH” [Steve Allen].
  • AirSpace — Action on Smoking & Health - Canada
    A nonsmokers’ rights organization in Vancouver, British Columbia. Dedicated to make the tobacco industry a health hazard of the past.
  • Foundation for a Smokefree America
    A comprehensive list of sites dedicated to stopping the world wide tobacco scourge. Includes a page with software to quit and prevent smoking. The organization was founded by one of the most influential advocates of a smokefree America.
  • Quit Now - Australia 
    A site for the none smoker, the starting smoker, the smoker, the formal smoker and the smoker who wants to quit. The purpose of this official Australian site is to help smokers off their addiction to nicotine with or without resources.
  • Smoking Cessation - about.com
    A quit smoking guide from about.com, editor: Terry Martin.
  • Tobacco
    News and Resources on tobacco and smoking issues. They want to assist smokers trying to quit, alert for tobacco control advocates, and stimulate open debate on the wide spectrum of tobacco issues.
  • Tobacco Industry Documentation
    In 1998, six million once secret documents from seven cigarette manufacturers doing business in the US became available to the public as a result of legal action. The World Health Organization (WHO) shows what they are, what they tell us, and how to search them. It informs about some of the plans and processes of the tobacco companies in thei attempt to dealy or obstruct tobacco control measures and policies.
  • Tobacco use, prevention and cessation
    Information regarding tobacco use and its prevention. Presented by the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
  • CDC’s Tips
    Tobacco Use Information Page from the American Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Includes a great page with research, data & reports.

Suicide

We are born with the ability to take our lives. Each year a million people make that choice. Even societies where suicide is illegal or taboo, people still kill themselves. Suicidal feelings should not be under-estimated, they are real and powerful and immediate. The victims are driven by pain not choice. Suicide isn’t chosen - it happens when pain exceeds the resources for coping with pain. But we do know that suicide is often a permanent solution to a temporary problem. And we also know that most people who once thought about killing themselves are now glad to be alive. They didn't want to end their lives - they just wanted to stop the pain.

 

  • Anomie  (SocioSite)
  • Befrienders Worldwide
    If you are feeling suicidal at this point in time, and you need someone to talk to, this site provides referal and information services. Befrienders listen to people whoe are lonely, despairing or considering suicide. They don’t judge them, and don’t tell them what to do. They listen. That may not sound much - but it can make the difference between life and death. By listening to a suicidal person, a befriender helps them to listen to themselves. Befrienders International is a network of 350+ befriending centers world-wide. It was founded in 1974 and now has member centers in over 41 countries and a head office in London, England. The site is presented in 12 languages.
  • Beurs, Derek de / Kirtley, Olivia / Kerkhof, Ad / Portzky, Gwendolyn / O’Connor, Rory C. 
    [2015] The Role of Mobile Phone Technology in Understanding and Preventing Suicidal Behavior
    In: Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 36(2): 79–82.
    Suicidal behavior is the result of a complex interaction of psychiatric, psychological, social, and cultural factors. Despite considerable epidemiological advances in the identification of risk factors, explanations for why suicide occurs in some cases but not in others are limited. The factors that predict the transition from suicidal thoughts to suicidal behavior are poorly understood; the evidence for which treatments are effective in reducing suicide risk is also scant. The authors discuss how mobile phone technology has the potential to move the field forward in terms of understanding suicide risk, as well as laying foundations for the development of effective treatments/interventions. Mobile health approaches in suicide prevention is rapidly growing. Health interventions delivered via mobile phones have the potential to lead to more promising and dynamic intervention and prevention strategies. The authors highlight the limitations and barriers to their use as well as their strengths and the opportunities that they afford.
  • Bizarre Celebrity Suicides
    Some of the more imaginative ways well-know people have chosen to end their lives, gathered by Brain Candy. One example: Kiyoko Matsumoto, a 19 year old student, killed himself in 1933 by jumping into the thousand foot crater of a volcano on the island of Oshima, Japan. This act started a bizarre fashion in Japan and in the ensuing months three hunderd children did the same thing. Emile Durkheim knew it in his days: “No fact is more readily transmissible by contagion than suicide” [Le Suicide 1897].
  • Durkheim, Emile
    [1897] Suicide: A Study in Sociology
    The most classical contribution to modern suicidology. Durkheim explains that anomy is actually a chronic state in the sphere of trade and industry. The progress of capitalism has freed industrial relations from all regulation: religion has lost its power of preaching ascetism, and the government has become a tool and servant of the dominant actors in economic life. Anomy, therefore is regular factor in suicide in modern societies. Egoistic suicide results from man’s no longer finding a basis for his own existence and altruistic suicide occurs because man believes his basis for existence is situated beyond life. Yet, anomic suicide results form man's activities lacking regulation and his consequent sufferings.
  • Fu, King-wa / Cheng, Qijin / Wong, Paul W. C. / Yip, Paul S. F.
    [2013] Responses to a Self-Presented Suicide Attempt in Social Media. A Social Network Analysis
    In: Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 34(6): 406-412.
    The self-presentation of suicidal acts in social media has become a public health concern. In 2011 a Chinese microblogger posted a wrist-cutting picture that was widely circulated in Chinese social media. This exploratory study examines 5,971 written reactions of a group of Chinese microbloggers exposed to the post containing a self-harming message and photo. The pattern of information diffusion via a social network is analysed. A significant portion of written responses (36.6%) could help vulnerable netizens by providing peer-support and calls for help. These responses were reposted and diffused via an online social network with markedly more clusters of users – and at a faster pace – than a set of randomly generated networks. The authors conclude that social media are a double-edged sword: While it may contagiously affect others by spreading suicidal thoughts and acts, it may also play a positive role by assisting people at risk for suicide, providing rescue or support.
  • International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP)
    An international suicide prevention organization, IASP is dedicated to preventing suicidal behaviour and providing a forum for mental health professionals, crisis workers, suicide survivors and other people in one way or another affected by suicidal behaviour. It includes professionals and volunteers from more than fifty different countries. IASP is a non-governmental organization in official relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO) concerned with suicide prevention.
  • Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
    Published under the Auspices of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).
  • Kearl, Michael
    Sociology of Death: Suicide
  • Marsden, Paul
  • NewsGroups on Suicide
  • Ruder, Thomas D / Hatch, Gary, M. / Ampanozi, Garyfalia / Thali, Michael J. / Fischer, Nadja
    [2011] Suicide Announcement on Facebook
    In: Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 32(5): 280-282
    The social media and the internet may be having an influence on suicidal behavior. The impact of these online social networks on suicidal behavior has not yet been evaluated. The authors discuss potential effects of suicide notes on Facebook on suicide prevention and copycat suicides, and want to create awareness among health care professionals. They present a case involving a suicide note on Facebook and discuss potential consequences of this phenomenon based on literature found searching PubMed and Google.
    There are numerous reports of suicide notes on Facebook in the popular press, but none in the professional literature. Online social network users attempted to prevent planned suicides in several reported cases. There is no documented evidence of a copycat suicide, directly emulating a suicide announced on Facebook. Suicide notes on online social networks may allow for suicide prevention via the immediate intervention of other network users. But it is not yet clear to what extent suicide notes on online social networks actually induce copycat suicides.
  • Salvatore, Tony
    • [1998-2000] The Ethics Side of Suicide
      Suicide has an ethical dimension. Victims are driven by pain not choice, but they are often in relationships governed by ethical duties. Salvatore presents some thoughts on the role of ethics in suicide.
    • [2010] The Suicide Paradigm - Thoughts on the causes of suicide and the nature of suicide loss
      The paradigm concept is the idea that in any field there is a set of assumptions shared by those in the field. The paradigm defines the field and shapes the rules of the game. A paradigm determines what gets taught and studied, the methods, and how the findings are interpreted. It defines the needs addressed, who is served, and how the services are provided. In short: a paradigm supplies 'all the answers' to questions of researchers and practioners. The concept was introduced by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962).
  • Stone, Geo
    Suicide and Attempted Suicide: Methods and Consequences
    A online book that describes the methods people use to commit suicide and the medical consequences of suicide attemts. It is a disturbing contribution becauce Stone also shows how to carry out a safe suicidal gesture and how to commit suicide as non-traumatically as possible. Some might say that they don’t want to know how suicide is done at a ‘proper’ way. But Stone argues that the consequences of ignorance are more disturbing: botched suicides, accidental deaths and maimed survivors, slow and painful deaths.
  • Suicide Helplines
    A large suicide referral site that opens the way to suicide helplines and emotional first aid centers worldwide and on the internet. There is a lot of nonsense talked about suicide. Facts gets confused with fiction. On this site you can test how much you know about suicide.
  • Suicide Research Consortium
    A consortium that coordinates program development in suicide research across the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The Consortium identifies the gaps in the scientific knowledge base on suicide across the life span, stimulates and monitors extramural research on suicide, and keeps abreast of scientific developments in suicidology and public policy issues related to suicide surveillance, prevention and treatment. The site disseminates science-based in formation on suicidology to the public, media and policy makers. It contains fact sheets and FAQ's about suicide; most recent suicide statistics; suicide rates by age, gender and race; a selected bibliography on research on suicidal behavior; abstracts of currently funded research grants pertaining to suicidal behavior.
  • Suicide in the United States
    Presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
  • Suicidology Online (SOL) 
    A peer-reviewed open-access journal. All publications in Suicidology Online are licensed under a Creative Commons-License 3.0 (CC).
  • Tremblay, Pierre J.
    [1995] The Homosexuality Factor in the Youth Suicide Problem
    Presented at the Sixth Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Banff, Alberta, October 11-14, 1995.
    Suicidology has a history of not recognizing the homosexuality factor in suicide problems, but a suicide problem has exited in gay communities for the last 150 years. The predictable over-representation of GLB's (gay, lesbian, and bixexual) youth in the attemted suicide problem has been confirmed know by Dr. C. Bagley's study of 750 randomly sampled young adult males. Homosexually active males accounted for 37% of suicide attempts, and the actual percentage may be higher. The study also reveals that 87.5% of male yout suicide attempters were either sexually abused as children and/or are homosexually oriented.
  • Wikipedia

Death and Dying

  • Death and Dying - About.com
    Addresses some of the issues facing professionals and those they care for. Included is helpful information on miscarriage, stillborn, neonatal death, hospice greif and bereavement. The site also includes weekly updates, chat, a newsletter and a bulletin board. Editor: Chris Raymond.
  • Death and Dying - Natural Death Centre, UK 
    A long list of links on death and dying.
  • Death Customs (SocioSite)
  • DeathNET 
    An international archive specialising in all aspects of death and dying - with a sincere respect for every point of view. The most comprehensive Internet resource on death, dying, and euthanasia. From: The Right to Die Society of Canada. Over 500 documents on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Over 100 links to medical and legal information resources. You can visit the “ERGO! Information Center” (The U.S. News and Euthanasia Archives, moderated by Derek Humphry), the “The Art and Science of Suicide” project (original research in 'self-deliverance' and euthanasia) and more.
  • Dying with Dignity (DWD) 
    A Canadian society concerned with the quality of dying (Toronto, Ontario).
  • Egyptian Book of the Dead - The Papyrus of Ani 
    Translated by sir E.A. Wallis Budge, and prepared for the web by Mathias Hansson (Sweden).
  • Encyclopedia of Death and Dying
  • End of Life, The
    Exploring Death in America. 
    Listen in “Transcripts” to the audio or read the text of a story on end of life issues. The site contains a list of resources for people with life-threatening diseases and their families and caregivers. It also contains a biography and readings on death in America. You can tell your own story.
  • Ernest Becker Foundation
    Established in 1993, the Ernest Becker Foundation seeks to advance understanding of how the unconscious denial of mortality profoundly influences human behavior. Ernest Becker laid the foundation for this work in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Denial of Death. The basic premise of this book is that human civilization is ultimately an elaborate, symbolic defense mechanism against the knowledge of our mortality, which in turn acts as the emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival mechanism. “The idea of death, the fear of it, haunts the human animal like nothing else; it is a mainspring of human activity” [DOD, p. ix]. See the video: The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker [1:25:42]
  • Euthanasia in Holland 
    The Dutch Voluntary Euthanasia Society.
  • Funeral Consumer Alliance (FCA)
    Dedicated to a consumer’s right to chose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral.
  • GriefShare - Grief Recovery Support Groups 
    It hurts to lose someone. GriefShare is a friendly, caring group of people who will walk alongside you through one of life’s most difficult experiences. You don’t have to go through the grieving process alone.
  • Growth House
    A guide to death, dying, grief, bereavement, and end of life resources.
  • Hospice Patients Alliance (HPA)
    HPA protects the rights of patients, their families and caregivers, the bereaved and staff by providing information about the standards of care governing the health care provided, the services required to be provided by law, standard industry practices and how to obtain the very best hospice care available.
  • Human Mortality Database (HMD)
    Provides detailed mortality and population data to researchers, students, journalists, policy analysts, and others interested in the history of human longevity. The database contains detailed population and mortality data for 38 countries or areas.
  • Kearl, Michael - Trinity University, USA
    • Sociology of Death and Dying 
      While mortality is universal there are major economic, social and cultural differences in how people live and die across the world. Kearl explores how death is an indicator of life. Essays, commentary, graphs and links on the death issues of our time: abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, life expectancies of different groups, genocide and more. Also cross-national study in progress examining why belief in life after death greatest among Americans. Life becomes transparent against the background of death — it reveals the most central social processes and cultural values. “Death is a catalyst that, when put into contact with any cultural order, precipitates out the central beliefs and concerns of a people.”
    • [2010] Looking Backward at the Late Modern Way of Death: 2060-2010
    • [2010] Why & How to Investigate Death and Dying
    • [2011] Death and Social Inequality
    • [2011] Death and the Medical System - Late modern societies’ frontline in the war against death
    • [2011] Death, Work and Consumerism
      In this presentation Kearl illustrates the stratification of the dirtiest and most lethal jobs.
    • [2011] Death in Mass Media
      With death largely removed from everyday life, our thanatological lessons increasing derive from the mass media. In Western societies direct contact with the dead has declinde, but there has been an increase in the images of death. In this powerpoint document Michael Kearl demonstrates how death is (re)presented in the mass media and how media can be a cause of death.
  • Landelijk Steunpunt Rouw (LSR) 
    A Dutch site on mourning assistance.
  • Lamenting Sons: Fathers & Grief
    Resources for bereaved fathers and discussion of issues of male grieve.
  • McManus, Ruth - University of Canterbury, New Zealand
    [2012] Death in a Global Age
    New York: Palgrave MacMillan
    An exploration of our experiences and expectations of dying in contemporary societies. Beliefs and rituals surrounding death vary depending on our culture. Our beliefs, practices and representations of death are adapting in response to fast-evolving forces of globalization, including the media, technology, religion and consumption. By investigating the relationship between death and society on a truly international scale, McManus gives new insight in to the ways in which the social world helps us to make sense of death, dying and our own mortality.
  • McManus, Ruth / Du Plessis, Rosemary
    [2011] Death and dying
    In: J. Phillips (ed.) [2011], Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, Social Connections: Life Stages and Population. Wellington: Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 
    Nothing is more certain than death, but the way people deal with death and dying has changed over time. Different cultures and religions have their own ways of preparing for death, and mourning and burying the dead.
  • Miller, Galanty
    You Take My Breath Away: the Sociology of Death
    In: Huffington Post, 27.1.2014.
    A short story about the fundamentals of a sociology of death. It starts with the only thing in live that is certain: everybody dies. But we don’t like that. We are afraid of death because we don’t want to miss life and we are afraid of what happens next, when are not not alive anymore. “We don’t even like to say the word ‘death’. Instead, we say that our grandmother ‘passed away’ or that she’s ‘no longer with us’. To say that someone died is ‘insensitive’. But there’s nothing really insensitive about it. Death is part of life. First you’re born. Then you build up Twitter followers. Then you die.”
  • Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
    The MMWR series —prepared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)— is the agency’s primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations.
  • More to Death
    A journal for those people who are in the process of planning a funeral – their own or that of a loved one. The official journal of the Natural Death Center (NDC).
  • Pentaris, Panagiotis
    Culture and Death: A Multicultural Perspective
    In: HPJSWP, 4(1)
  • Solomon, Sheldon / Greenberg,Jeff / Pyszczynski, Tom
    [2015] The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life
    Random House
    Based on robust and groundbreaking experimental research the authors develop a transformative theory that reveals how our unconscious fear of death powers almost everything we do, shining a light on the hidden motives that drive human behavior. The basic premisse of this theory is dat we deal with the fact of death by sustaining faith in our cultural worldview. This imbues our sense of reality with order, meaning, and permanence, which in turn fosters the ability to maintain a feeling of personal significance commonly known as self-esteem that shield us against rumblings of dread and enables us to believe we are enduring significant beings [p. 9]. This thesis provides a logical springboard for explaining why bringing death to the forefront of consciousness could drive us to cling even harder to both our worldview and our self-esteem.
  • Stillbirth and Neonatal Death - Sands Victoria, Australia
    A support group for parents who experience miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death.
  • Videos
    • [2012] Death & Dying Among Many Cultures [32:08]
      A presentation given to RNs and Graduate Nurses of St. Joseph School of Nursing in N. Providence, RI, on the topic of death and dying from a multicultural perspective in relation to nursing care of the client and their family.
    • [2013] Sociological Theory: Death and Dying [15:02] - Debra Marshall
      A short introduction to how each of the major sociological theories describe issues related to aging, death and dying. This brief overview was created for an undergraduate course on the sociology of death and dying.
    • [2013] Experiencing Death: An Insider's Perspective [1:14:39]
      For millennia, human beings have wondered what happens when we die. What is the first-person experience of dying and being brought back to life? Technological advances in resuscitation science have now added an intriguing new chapter to the literature of ‘out of body’ or ‘near death experiences’ by eliciting detailed and vivid accounts of those who have approached the threshold of death. However we might seek to explain such phenomena, it is no longer tenable to simply dismiss this accumulating body of firsthand experiences. Can these experiences be explained through the lens of biology and neuroscience? What can we learn from the transformative accounts of those who have crossed the threshold of death? How have their experiences affected their sense of self and identity? Neurologist Kevin Nelson, psychiatrist Peter Fenwick, orthopedic surgeon Mary Neal, and emergency medicine expert Sam Parnia share some of these remarkable stories and discuss how they analyze such experiences in light of their own backgrounds and training.
    • [2014] Confronting Mortality: Faith and Meaning Across Cultures [1:09:31]
      Despite advances in technology and medicine, death itself remains an immutable certainty. Indeed, the acceptance and understanding of our mortality is one of the enduring metaphysical challenges that have confronted human beings from the beginning of time. How have we sought to cope with the inevitability of our mortality? How do various cultural and social representations of mortality shape and influence the way in which we understand and approach death? To what extent do personal beliefs and convictions about the meaning of life or the notion of an afterlife impact how we perceive and experience the process of death and dying? Psychologist Lani Leary, historian of religions Jeffrey J. Kripal, and sociologist Allan Kellehear come together to share a multicultural perspective on death, dying, and what lies beyond.
  • WHO - Mortality
    Mortality data indicate numbers of deaths by place, time and cause. WHO’s mortality data reflect deaths registered by national civil registration systems of deaths, with the underlying cause of death coded by the national authority.
  • Wikipedia

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