Suicide prevention through restricting access to suicide means and hotspots

Abstract

In this review, the terms ‘suicide’ and ‘suicide deaths’ refer to self-harm behaviours that have resulted in fatal consequences and ‘suicide attempt’ refers to self-harm behaviours that did not cause death. Suicide is a complex phenomenon arising from the interplay of multiple factors, such as psychiatric disorders, psychological characteristics, life events, and genetic/ biological factors to name a few. When someone is hopeless and suicidal, access to specific methods of suicide is a vital issue; it serves as a crucial element in determining the likelihood of suicidal thoughts being translated into a suicide attempt or death ( Hawton, 2007 ). In this chapter, we review the characteristics of individuals adopting different methods of suicide and explore the existing evidence on the effectiveness of prevention practices that restrict access to the means and sites of suicide. After reviewing the empirical evidence on suicide prevention through restriction to means and hotspots (popular locations where suicide events are clustered), we apply the concept of utility functions from economic theories/models to the formulation of individual choices in suicide ( Cutler, Glaeser, & Norberg, 2001 ; Hamermesh & Soss, 1974 ; Marcotte, 2003 ).