SUICIDE in RURAL & REMOTE AREAS of AUSTRALIA - Living is for ...

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Suicide in rural and remote areas of Australia 5 The context of rural suicide There are a number of factors put forth as possible explanations for the high rate of suicide in rural areas of Australia. Some of these explanations include social isolation, economic stressors, and a lack of available services in rural areas (Hirsch, 2006, Judd et al, 2006). Other explanations highlight occupational issues related to the farming industry, economic and fi nancial problems, and stressors related to changing climatic conditions (Page and Fragar, 2002, Taylor et al, 2004, Alston, 2010). The problematic use of alcohol and drugs and access to lethal suicide methods, such as fi rearms, may also play a role in explaining the higher burden of suicide in rural areas (Miller et al, 2010, Klieve et al, 2009a). Cultural infl uences on suicide also need to be considered, particularly in areas with a high proportion of Indigenous persons (Proctor, 2005). is therefore driven by numerous contextual social, cultural and economic factors, as well as individual level factors (Neeleman, 2002). Understanding both individual and social contextual infl uences on suicide is particularly relevant considering the ongoing physical (e.g., environmental infl uences connected to climate change, service availability and accessibility), economic (e.g., rural socioeconomic decline) and social (e.g., outmigration) changes occurring in rural Australia (Morrissey and Reser, 2007, Judd et al, 2006). However, it is unlikely that there is only one explanation for the high rates of suicide in rural areas. Suicide is a multi-dynamic phenomenon, and GriffithBook FINAL 20/09.indd 5 15/11/12 4:28 PM
6 Suicide in rural and remote areas of Australia The aim of the current research and structure of report This report contains four main chapters. Chapter One presents a literature review on the topic of rural suicide in Australia. This review will include a detailed presentation of past research on at-risk groups, suicide methods, and risk and protective factors. Chapter Two contains the results of an analysis on the contextual infl uence on suicide in metropolitan, regional and remote areas; while Chapter Three shows results of an individual analysis from a case-control psychological autopsy study of suicide deaths compared to sudden death controls. This specifi cally focuses on key areas that are relevant to suicide mortality: access to health care and mental illness. This quantitative analysis is illustrated with four case studies from rural areas. We examine existing suicide prevention strategies in rural areas in Chapter Four of this report, and make suggestions for how suicide prevention strategies can be strengthened or improved. As refl ected in the chapters included in this report, our approach seeks to be as holistic as possible by considering the psychological, environmental, and cultural factors which impact on self-infl icted deaths occurring in rural Australia. We hope that progressing knowledge in these key areas can lead to the development of targeted and multi-dynamic prevention initiatives and the eventual reduction of suicide in the Australian population. GriffithBook FINAL 20/09.indd 6 15/11/12 4:28 PM
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Chapter 4 Suicide prevention initia
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Conclusions As in any other part of
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References Agerbo, E., Sterne, J. A
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