Citation

Kolves K, Leske S, De Leo D. Aust. N. Zeal. J. Psychiatry 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/00048674231177960

PMID

37264924

Abstract

Surveillance is a crucial part of suicide prevention, for identifying suicide trends, risk groups, suicide clusters (World Health Organization (WHO), 2014) and frequently used locations for suicide. Suicide sites are usually public, natural or man-made objects known for their use for suicidal behaviour (e.g. bridges or cliffs) (Ross et al., 2020). Some suicide prevention activities to prevent jumping at common sites are more effective than others. For example, a 2020 systematic review found that physical barriers reduced jumping suicides by 93% compared to a 46% reduction for jumping means restriction interventions delivered in combination with other interventions (Okolie et al., 2020). Furthermore, a recent economic analysis of installing barriers at bridge sites in Australia found that barriers installed at multiple bridge sites are cost-saving and cost-effective in the short term (5 years) and long term (10 years) (Bandara et al., 2022).

The Story Bridge is a heritage-listed 74-m-high bridge in Brisbane City across the Brisbane River. Suicides from the Story Bridge have received attention over many years and preventive actions have been recommended (e.g. Law et al., 2014). After the media attention on Story Bridge murder-suicides in 2011 and 2012, the interim Queensland Suicide Register (iQSR), a real-time surveillance system, showed that suicides at the site increased from 7 in 5 years (2006–2010) to 16 in 2012 alone. Informed by the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, in consultation with Queensland Health and Brisbane City Council, the Story Bridge Suicide Prevention Reference Group was established and different preventive actions were adopted, including installing Lifeline phones and surveillance cameras in 2012 and barriers at the Story Bridge by December 2015. This analysis examines the impact of these activities on suicides from the Story Bridge and the potential substitution effect by comparing changes in nearby locations.

Language: en