Depression and Suicidality in Europe

​Head of project: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl

The European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD) is an international network of experts with the common aim of improving the care of depressed patients by initiating community-based intervention programmes in 17 European countries. The EAAD is based on a multilevel approach to suicide intervention and depression awareness that was first tested in Nuremberg, Germany in the Nuremberg Alliance Against Depression (NAAD).

The multilevel approach includes the following actions:

1. Intervention with primary care physicians 
2. Initiation of a public media campaign 
3. Intervention with community facilitators
4. Intervention with affected persons and their relatives

The adaptation of this approach in various countries throughout Europe began in 2004 with the formation of the EAAD. Since then, community based multilevel interventions have been initiated and a catalogue of "best practice" materials has been adopted with input from all partner countries. Evaluation criteria have also been established. Due to high rates of suicide attempts among adolescents, additional emphasis has been placed on the topic of youth depression and special materials are being created to address this particular population.

In October 2008, the nonprofit organisation EAAD e.V. was founded.

​Information about this project is available on the German website.

​Strengthening research partnerships in suicide prevention (MOE)

Project staff Leipzig
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl, Katrin Gottlebe

European partners

• Prof. Dr. Airi Värnik (Estonish-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute, Tallinn, Estland)
• Prof. Mária Kopp (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Ungarn)
• Prof. Andrej Marusic (University of Primorska, Ljubljana, Slowenien)

Suicidality is a significant public health problem, especially in Eastern Europe. The project aims at strengthening the cooperation of the EAAD project office at the Department of Psychiatry (Leipzig University) with EAAD partners in Eastern Europe.
The project seeks to (1) strengthen the established partnerships and research between the Leipzig University and partners in Estonia, Hungary, and Slovenia, and further (2) to disseminate the EAAD intervention approach for the prevention of suicide to central, eastern and southeastern European countries.

To achieve these goals, (1) partners will be supported in the continued expansion of regional networks by the project office, (2) other countries from Eastern Europe will be integrated in the network, and (3) sustainability of the multilevel intervention will be supported.

Financing: International Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research

​Optimised suicide prevention programs and their implementation in Europe (OSPI-Europe)

Head of research: Prof. Dr. Ulrich Hegerl

OSPI-Europe is a collaborative research project funded by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme. The goal of OSPI-Europe is to provide EU members with an evidence based prevention concept for suicidality. Further, concrete materials and instruments for running and evaluating these interventions and recommendations for the proper implementation of the intervention will be developed and disseminated. The prevention concept will be implemented and evaluated in four European region in Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Portugal.

The OSPI-Europe consortium consists of researchers of major importance in the field of suicide prevention. The Department of Psychiatry is the Project Coordinator. The partners are Germany, Estonia, United Kingdom, Belgium, The Netherlands, Ireland, Hungary, Slovenia, and Portugal.

OSPI-Europe is funded by the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement N* 223138.

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