The effectiveness of an Australian community suicide prevention networks program in preventing suicide: a controlled longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a major issue affecting communities around the world. Community-based suicide prevention approaches can tailor activities at a local level and are recognised as a key component of national suicide prevention strategies. Despite this, research exploring their effects on completed suicides is rare. This study examined the effect of a national program of community suicide prevention networks on suicide rates in catchment areas across Australia. Methods: Australian suicide data from the National Coronial Information System for 2001–2017 were mapped to geographic catchment areas of community suicide prevention networks and matched control areas with similar characteristics...