The effectiveness of a structural intervention in preventing suicidal behaviours at a bridge in South Korea and its influence at nearby bridges

Abstract

Background: There is some evidence that restricting access does not lead to displacement effects at other sites. However, most of these studies do not consider the similarities and the distances between intervention and comparison sites. We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a barrier in preventing suicidal behaviours at one bridge and its impact on nearby bridges with similar environments. Methods: We used eight-year annual suicide deaths and emergency service call-outs for suicidal events at one bridge in South Korea where a safety barrier was installed in December 2016 and four nearby bridges. We estimated rate ratios to evaluate the effectiveness at the intervention bridge only, and t..