FACULTY members of the University of Santo Tomas recently published a study on how the Catholic Church responded to spike in suicide cases during the pandemic.

Instructor Ivan Efreaim A. Gozum and Asst. Prof. Joselito G. Gutierrez’s paper titled “A Proposed Pastoral Approach to Address the Surge in Suicide Cases in the Philippines During the COVID‐19 Pandemic” was published in the Journal of Religion and Health, a Quartile 1 Scopus-indexed journal under Springer.

The duo presented data and statistics related to the rise in suicide cases at the peak of the pandemic.

Their findings suggest that the pandemic played a role in the spike of suicide cases because of “additional stressors” that adversely impacted mental health.

These stressors included domestic conflicts, financial loss, anxiety, depression, and preexisting mental health conditions.

“Against this backdrop, the authors emphasized the Church’s commitment to uphold the sanctity of life amidst the health crisis. The Church addresses various social concerns related to suicide and the devaluation of individuals, while striving to uphold the inherent dignity of every person and adapting to address emerging challenges, including mental health issues,” UST said.

“Given the limited access to basic healthcare in the Philippines, Gozum and Gutierrez advocate for the Church and other sectors to develop suitable programs to aid those affected by the pandemic. To this end, they proposed a pastoral program encompassing prevention, intervention, and postvention strategies,” it added.

UST said the article also contributes significantly “to the expanding body of literature on mental health studies by helping bridging the gap between faith and science.”