Conference Agenda

BACKGROUND: Approximately one in four suicide deaths has been reported to occur in public settings. Still, more information is needed to plan preventive efforts, such as restriction of access to means or encouragement of help-seeking. The aim of this project was to determine the proportion, characteristics, and methods of suicide deaths occurring in public settings in Denmark as well as whether specific factors were associated with suicides in public places.

METHODS: Data on all suicide deaths occurring in Denmark during 2010-2024 were analyzed. A complete extract of all death certificates, including autopsy reports, were obtained from the Danish Health Data Authority. Based on information regarding location of suicide, we determined whether it had occurring in public places. Using ICD-10 codes, we identified following suicide methods: poisoning (X60-69), hanging (X70), shooting (X72-74), drowning (X71), cutting/sharp objects (X78-79), jumping (X80), moving objects (X81-82) and others (X75-77, X83-84). Descriptive and logistics analyses were performed.

RESULTS: A total of 9285 suicide deaths were identified. Suicide by hanging (41.4%) and poisoning (26.6%), and shooting (9.0%) were the most frequent suicide method. Jumping, moving objects, drowning, cutting/sharp objects and other methods were all around 4-5%. In all, 5499 (59.2%) suicide occurred outside the home. Individuals who died by suicide in public places had used following methods: hanging (37.9%), poisoning (25.6%), shooting (8.8%), drowning (6.9%), moving objects (6.7%), jumping (5.0%), cutting/sharp objects (4.5%), and other methods (4.5%). Further analyses are being conducted and the remaining results will be available at the time of the conference.

CONCLUSION: Nearly six in ten suicides occur in public places, and most involve males. The most common methods in public settings are hanging and poisoning, with hanging predominates among males, whereas poisoning is more frequent among females.

Introduction

Dominant approaches towards preventing suicides at 'high-risk' locations and using ‘lethal’ means centre restricting the ‘physical’ and ‘cultural and cognitive’ availability of suicide methods. Known as ‘means restriction’, these prevention measures are found to be highly effective (Hawton, Knipe, and Pirkis 2024; Steeg et al. 2025). However, with their focus on preventing discrete acts of suicide, means restriction approaches can deter attention from localised social and cultural contexts of structural inequity and suicide prevention.

Methods

Drawing on interview and ethnographic data from a sociologically informed, qualitatively driven study of sociocultural practices and narratives relating to suicide in Scotland, UK (2022-2024), this paper focuses on study field sites where bridges have been culturally scripted as ‘high-risk’ locations of suicide. We use theories of embodied sociology and bodily techniques (Crossley 1995, 2005, 2007) to analyse experiential accounts of methods of suicide described by participants who have attempted suicide within these sites, alongside cultural scripts about suicide methods in our ethnographic fieldwork and interviews with professionals.

Results

Across our data, prevention efforts and discourses surrounding methods of suicide centred the role of bridges. Yet, these discourses diverged from the methods and practices described by those in the community who attempted suicide. Bridges, though prevalent in participants’ suicidal imaginaries, had a marginal role in participants’ accounts of their practices of suicide.

Conclusions

The bodily techniques of suicide described by study participants with lived-experience of suicide underscore broader structural inequities and deficiencies that complicate the optimism that means restriction can promise. Preventative efforts at bridges may obscure participants’ embodied experiences of suicide and the deprivation of community care and service provision in these localities. Our analysis provides critical reflections on the use of and assumptions underpinning means restriction for suicide prevention and suggests socially and culturally situated alternatives.

Introduction: This work represents the first stage of a broader human-centric research framework aimed at informing personalized suicide prevention measures and evidence-based health and safety public policy in railway environments. Railway suicides constitute a significant public health and safety concern with profound human, social, and operational consequences. While traditional research often evaluates the impact of isolated interventions, a comprehensive understanding of how multiple demographic, temporal, and spatial variables interact is essential to support more effective and adaptive prevention strategies.
Method: An initial exploratory analysis was conducted using an original database comprising all known railway suicide records in Portugal between 2016 and 2021. The dataset includes information on geographical location, date and time of occurrence, gender, age, media coverage, and apparent suicide attempts. Descriptive statistical methods and exploratory data analysis techniques were applied to identify patterns, trends, and associations across variables, establishing a foundation for future multivariable modeling.
Results: Preliminary results reveal distinct temporal patterns related to time of day and year, alongside notable demographic differences across gender and age groups. Spatial analysis highlights specific geographical clusters with higher incidence. Additionally, potential relationships emerge between certain locations, recurrence patterns, and media reporting. These findings suggest that railway suicide risk cannot be adequately explained by single-factor analyses and instead reflects the combined influence of multiple interacting variables.
Conclusions: Although exploratory in nature, the results already provide meaningful insights for the development of human-centric and data-driven suicide prevention strategies. This work lays the groundwork for future evaluation frameworks capable of estimating expected suicide occurrences based on multiple variables, thereby supporting more targeted interventions and informed health and safety public policy in railway systems.

Background: The UK has witnessed concerning suicide statistics, with at least 7,000 cases recorded in 2023—a rate of 13.0 per 100,000. While male suicide rates remain disproportionately high, water-related suicides comprise around 3–5% of all suicides.

Data from the UK Water Incident Database (WAID) suggests that 35% of water-related fatalities over an eight-year span were suspected suicides, with clustering in high-frequency locations. In one recent audit, 279 suspected water-related suicide fatalities were documented in a single year, underscoring the urgency of targeted intervention. Notably, for the first time on record in the UK, 2019 saw more people die in water-related suicides than in accidental drownings. RNLI volunteer lifeboat crews also respond to over 800 non-fatal incidents annually involving people in crisis who threaten or attempt suicide—highlighting the scale of distress and the burden on search and rescue services.

Context: The WHO’s LIVE LIFE Implementation Guide for Suicide Prevention highlights the need for multisectoral collaboration and situational analysis when designing effective prevention strategies. England’s updated Suicide Prevention Strategy for England: 2023–2028 reflects these principles, referencing water-related suicide and naming the UK National Water Safety Forum and the RNLI as lead organisations.

Progress:
• Responsible media practices
• Data-driven situational analysis
• Data sharing to support real-time suicide surveillance systems
• Advocacy and engagement with the suicide prevention sector

Lessons : Suicide is a public health issue and collaboration between suicide prevention and drowning prevention communities is vital, but prevention is complex and well-intended enthusiasm may have unintended consequences. Given the emotive nature of the issue, programmes must allow time, prioritise wellbeing, and use search and rescue data responsibly to support coordinated action.

Conclusion: By combining advanced analytics, hotspot-focused interventions and strategic partnerships, the UK can reduce the burden of water-related suicide while strengthening alignment across suicide and accidental drowning prevention sectors.

Background: Suicide method choice may reflect not only personal intent or planning but also feasible options constrained by spatiotemporal and situational context, including means availability, accessibility, and setting. However, prior research has largely emphasized demographic and clinical correlates, with limited integration of contextual patterns.

Objectives: This study aimed to examine how suicide method choice varies across temporal, spatial, and situational patterns and to conceptualize suicide as a contextually constructed behavior.

Methods: Using the Korean National Investigations of Suicide Victims Through Police Records (2013–2020), we analyzed 102,888 suicide decedents aged ≥10 years. Suicide methods were classified into eight categories (hanging, pesticide, poisoning, jumping, drowning, gas, injury, other). Distributions were assessed across temporal (season, month, weekday, time of death), spatial (residential region, relocation, discovery location), and situational factors (alcohol use, cohabitation, main cause, psychiatric symptoms, self-harm/attempt history, suicide note). Latent class analysis (LCA) identified contextual classes, and classes were compared by demographic characteristics and method distributions.

Results: Hanging was most common (51.7%). Method distributions differed by temporal, spatial, and situational contexts (all p<0.001). Most methods were highest in spring, except jumping and drowning, which were highest in summer (27.6% and 33.7%); most were highest on Monday, except pesticide deaths on Tuesday (14.8%). Suicide decedents were most often discovered at home, whereas jumping, drowning, and gas-related suicides were more often identified in public/outdoor settings; gas-related suicides also showed higher alcohol involvement (46.2%) and financial problems (40.6%). LCA identified five classes (entropy=0.787): public escapees, chronic high-risk, first-episode mental health, physical illness-driven, financial crisis with alcohol. Demographic and method distributions differed across classes (p<0.001).

Conclusions: Suicide method choice appears shaped by contextual constraints, underscoring the need for prevention strategies that extend beyond individual-level interventions to address the broader environments in which suicide occurs.

Introduction

Hanging is the most common method of suicide in Poland. The high prevalence of hanging contributes to Poland's notably elevated male-to-female suicide ratio of 7:1, one of the highest disparities observed internationally. Prevention of suicide by hanging presents unique challenges, as only approximately 10% of hanging suicides occur in controlled environment. This study aimed to examine the risk of suicide by hanging depending on psychiatric diagnosis, as a step toward finding preventive techniques.

Methods

We analyzed anonymized nationwide death certificate data comprising records of psychiatric diagnoses and suicide-related deaths in Poland. The dataset included death records with at least one psychiatric diagnosis classified according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10), codes F00–F99, as well as individuals who died by suicide, defined using ICD-10 codes X60–X84. The analysis covered a 3-year observation period 2021-2023. Basic statistics and logistic regression were calculated.

Results

In Poland, there were a total of 13,554 suicides in the years analyzed. 385 death certificates with psychiatric causes of death were identified (2,8%). Women accounted for 21.3%. Nearly 81% of suicides were committed by hanging. The most common diagnosis was alcohol dependence (31%), followed by recurrent depressive disorder (24%) and depressive episode (18%). Male gender was associated with an increased risk of suicide by hanging (OR=2.3; 95% CI 1.3–3.9). Similarly, a diagnosis of affective disorders was associated with an increased risk (OR=3.6; 95% CI 1.1–11.3).

Conclusions

Most suicides in Poland are committed by people without an identified psychiatric diagnosis on the death certificate. This points to the need for a particular focus on general population prevention strategies and/or highlights a systemic problem with the reporting of mental disorders. Men and people with affective disorders are at the highest risk of suicide by hanging.