主辦：健康行為與社區科學研究所

協辦：群體健康與福祉研究中心

撰寫：行社所劉展宏研究助理

Prof. Holly Wilcox目前任教於約翰霍普金斯大學彭博公共衛生學院精神健康學系，長年投入於青少年自殺防治研究，擅長透過大規模實證研究評估公共衛生介入措施的成效，是國際知名的自殺研究學者。

2026/01/15，經陽明交大陳娟瑜老師的引介，行社所所長張書森教授邀請Prof. Holly Wilcox蒞臨國立臺灣大學公共衛生學院演講。

演講中，Prof. Wilcox指出，青少年心理健康與自殺防治是重大公共衛生議題。自2014年起，台灣10-24歲青少年的自殺死亡率呈現顯著上升趨勢，自殺已成為該年齡層的第二大死因。她倡導「群體層次的介入方法」（Population-based Approach），主張透過整體環境的改變來降低群體的風險曲線，並應對盛行率不斷上升的精神疾病診斷、自殺意念與行為，而不僅僅只是鎖定少數的高風險個案。

Prof. Wilcox分享多項具科學實證的防治自殺與保護心理健康方案，例如：實施於國小階段的「好行為遊戲」（Good Behavior Game, GBG），該方案能有效改善學生的攻擊性與衝動行為，長遠來看也具備自殺風險的保護效果及成本效益。其他方案包括針對青少年的心理健康覺知課程（Youth Aware of Mental Health）；透過AI預警系統（GoGuardian Beacon）識別風險行為並及時介入；限制致命工具的政策，包括美國家庭需將槍枝上鎖存放；鼓勵青少年同儕互助的「心理健康急救」（Teen MHFA）訓練；以及美國各州推行的自殺防治立法，以降低自殺率。Prof. Wilcox也介紹Maryland Suicide Data Warehouse，將各群體層次的自殺資料串聯，並運用心理解剖來深入了解自殺。

Prof. Wilcox 最後強調，自殺防治需要「全政府、跨部門」的合作，將科學研究轉化為系統性的政策變革，以守護年輕世代的生命安全。

Lecture by Professor Holly Wilcox, Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Host: Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, College of Public Health, NTU

Co-host: Population Health Research Center, NTU

Written by: Zhan-Hong Liu, Research Assistant, Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences

Professor Holly Wilcox is a faculty member in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a world leading suicide researcher. Her research has long focused on youth suicide prevention, with a strong emphasis on evaluating public health interventions using large-scale empirical data.

On January 15, 2026, at the introduction of Professor Chuan-Yu Chen from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Professor Shu-Sen Chang, Director of the Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, invited Professor Wilcox to deliver a lecture at the College of Public Health, National Taiwan University.

In her lecture, Professor Wilcox emphasized that youth mental health and suicide prevention represent major public health challenges. Since 2014, suicide mortality rates among individuals aged 10–24 years in Taiwan have shown a marked upward trend, with suicide now ranking as the second leading cause of death in this age group. She advocated for a population-based approach, arguing that shifting the overall risk distribution through changes to social and environmental conditions is more effective than focusing solely on a small number of individuals at high risk. This approach is particularly relevant in the context of the increasing prevalence of mental disorders and rising levels of suicidal ideation and behavior.

Professor Wilcox presented several evidence-based interventions for suicide prevention and mental health promotion. These included the Good Behavior Game, implemented at the elementary school level, which has been shown to reduce aggressive and impulsive behaviors and to confer long-term protection against suicide risk with favorable cost-effectiveness. She also discussed youth mental health literacy programs such as Youth Aware of Mental Health; AI-based early warning systems such as GoGuardian Beacon for identifying risk behaviors and enabling timely intervention; policies restricting access to lethal means, including firearm safe storage requirements in the United States; peer support initiatives such as Teen Mental Health First Aid; and suicide prevention legislation implemented across U.S. states to reduce suicide rates. In addition, she introduced the Maryland Suicide Data Warehouse, which integrates population-level suicide data across sectors and applies psychological autopsy methods to improve understanding of suicide.

Professor Wilcox concluded by stressing that effective suicide prevention requires coordinated action across government sectors, with close collaboration to translate scientific evidence into systematic policy change to protect the lives and well-being of younger generations.