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BACKGROUND: Decreasing suicide mortality has become an overarching goal for societies worldwide. Suicide registers and other monitoring systems are a valuable source of information that can be used for addressing the suicide phenomenon and evaluating preventative interventions. AIMS: This scoping review provides an overview of literature published in the last decade that has focussed on the operations (functioning) and characteristics of suicide registers and other suicide monitoring systems. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched in 2020 for identifying published material from January 2010 to October 2020. The searches were updated in October 2023 to include material from 2020 to date. Grey literature through Google searches and mental health commissions websites and the reference lists of selected documents were also searched. RESULTS: Twenty-five articles were included in this review. Nearly half the articles were from the United States, followed by Australia. Nine countries were identified as having used suicide registers or suicide-specific monitoring systems to inform suicide prevention. Monitoring mechanisms varied across the countries examined. No article provided evidence that definitively linked suicide registers or other monitoring systems for suicide with the prevention of suicide or reduction in suicide rates. However, a variety of benefits of suicide monitoring for preventative and public health interventions were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The number of nations with surveillance systems for suicide prevention is low. Further, there is a lack of consistency in the systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of suicide-related information across the countries examined. Efforts to establish high-quality suicide surveillance systems that can be accessed in a timely and easy manner are needed to inform tailored strategies for suicide prevention.
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OBJECTIVE: While people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds have been identified as a priority for suicide prevention in Australia, little is known about suicide in CALD communities. We aim to describe the availability and quality of CALD data in the Victorian Suicide Register (VSR). METHODS: A retrospective consecutive case series review of suicides reported to the Coroners Court of Victoria during 2016 was conducted. Using the VSR, we identify suicides showing evidence of CALD identity and relevant variables were extracted and coded according to an adapted Australian Institute of Health and Welfare framework. RESULTS: During 2016, 126 of 652 suicides (19.3%, 95% confidence intervals 16.4-22.6) were flagged as showing evidence of CALD. The two most frequent CALD indicators for which information was recorded were country of birth and year of arrival. There was less information pertaining to citizenship, residency/visa status, preferred language, English language proficiency and religious affiliation. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the VSR, like other databases, has substantial gaps in availability and quality of CALD data. IMPLICATIONS: A framework to capture richer data on cultural, religious and linguistic diversity when coding suicides is needed to inform policy on suicide prevention initiatives designed for CALD communities.
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BACKGROUND: Very little is known regarding the epidemiology of suicides in Iraq, given the lack of a national surveillance system. Therefore, the government initiated this project "The Iraqi National Study of Suicide METHODS: The study covered 13 (out of 18) provinces in Iraq. A data collection form was designed by the researchers. The forms were completed by police stations in the 13 provinces. Data were extracted from the legal investigation (which include police investigation, family reports and postmortem reports) of cases of when there was no clear cause of death and where there was final verdict of suicide made by judge after examining these reports. RESULTS: There were 647 cases of suicide. The crude rate of suicide per 100 000 population was 1.09 (1.21 for males, 0.97 for females) in 2015 and 1.31 (1.54 for males and 1.07 for females) in 2016. The majority of cases (67.9%) were aged 29 years or below. The most common method was hanging (41%) followed by firearms (31.4%) and self-burning (19.2%). 24.1% of cases were reported to have psychiatric disorders, of which the most common diagnosis was depression (53.9%). In the majority of cases (82.1%) there were no previous attempts. Only a small minority were reported to have had psychological trauma (15.5%), financial problems (12.4%) or childhood abuse (2.2%). LIMITATIONS: The study covered only 13 provinces in Iraq. We were able to calculate age-standardized rates for year 2016 only. Data are based on official police records and under-reporting and under-recognition of psychiatric disorders are possible. CONCLUSION: On the basis of data available to this study, the suicide rate in Iraq is lower than the global rate. Suicide is more common in young people, where the gender distribution is almost equal. Social and cultural factors might have played a role in these patterns. The findings underscore the need of a national registry with a comprehensive and multipronged surveillance approach to correctly identify suicide events. This study aims to be the first step in this process.
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Suicidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribución por Edad , Anciano , Depresión/psicología , Femenino , Humanos , Irak/epidemiología , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Trauma Psicológico/psicología , Conducta Autodestructiva/psicología , Distribución por Sexo , Suicidio/psicología , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: With the exception of the United States, in recent years suicide rates have been declining in most western countries. Notoriously, suicide rates fluctuate - especially in males - in response to a range of socio-political and environmental factors, some of them difficult to identify. Our aim was to obtain an updated profile of main commonalities in suicide cases of Queensland residents between 2002 and 2011 to inform prevention strategies. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Queensland Suicide Register (QSR), including police and toxicology reports, post-mortem autopsy and Coroner's findings. Data are crosschecked with records from the National Coronial Information System. Age-standardised rates (ASR) of suicide, Poisson regression and Chi(2) tests are presented. RESULTS: A total of 5752 suicides by Queensland residents was registered between 2002 and 2011; 76.9% by males and 23.1% by females. The average ASR was 14.3 per 100,000, with a significant decrease between 2002 and 2011. Rates declined significantly in males, not in females. On average, rates were 3.41-times higher in males. ASR for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was significantly higher than for other Australians. Overall, male suicide rates were particularly high in remote areas, as well as in the most disadvantaged ones. One third of suicide cases presented history of previous suicidal behaviour, and half a detected and treated mental disorder. Hanging was the most common method. CONCLUSIONS: Suicide rates have declined in Queensland, Australia. It is problematic to say if this was due to suicide prevention programs or other factors.
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Suicidio/estadística & datos numéricos , Adolescente , Adulto , Distribución por Edad , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Asfixia/mortalidad , Australia/epidemiología , Aflicción , Niño , Conflicto Psicológico , Empleo/estadística & datos numéricos , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Estado Civil/estadística & datos numéricos , Trastornos Mentales/epidemiología , Persona de Mediana Edad , Nativos de Hawái y Otras Islas del Pacífico/estadística & datos numéricos , Traumatismos del Cuello/mortalidad , Intoxicación/mortalidad , Sistema de Registros , Factores de Riesgo , Población Rural/estadística & datos numéricos , Distribución por Sexo , Clase Social , Suicidio/psicología , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: Sexual orientation is seldom recorded at death in Australia, and to date there have been no studies on the relationship between those that have died by suicide and sexuality or minority gender identity in Australia. The aim of the present study is to determine whether or not lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and intersex individuals who die by suicide constitute a unique subpopulation of those who die by suicide, when compared with non-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex suicide deaths. METHODS: The Queensland Suicide Register holds records of all suicides in Queensland since 1990. All cases from 2000 to 2009 (inclusive; a total of 5,966 cases) were checked for potential indicators of individuals' sexual orientation and gender identification. A total of 35 lesbian (n = 10), gay (n = 22), bisexual (n = 2), and transgender (n = 1) suicide cases were identified. Three comparison cases of non-LGBT suicides for each LGBT suicide were then located, matched by age and gender. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: It was significantly more likely that depression was mentioned in the cases of LGBT suicides than in non-LGBT cases. While 12.4% of the comparison group had been diagnosed with psychotic disorders, there were no such diagnoses among LGBT individuals. LGBT individuals experienced relationship problems more often, with relationship conflict also being more frequent than in non-LGBT cases. DISCUSSION: Despite its limitations, this study - the first of its kind in Australia - seems to indicate that LGBT people would require targeted approaches in mental and general health services.