Citation

Pollock NJ. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(22): e16224389.

Affiliation

Division of Community Health and Humanities, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16224389

PMID

31717635

Abstract

Restricting access to lethal means is a key public health intervention for preventing suicide. Means restriction research has often focused on suicide methods that are modifiable through legislation or policy interventions. However, some of the most common methods such as hanging may not be sensitive to regulation. The aims of this paper are to examine built environment and place-based approaches to means restriction in suicide prevention, and further consider the connections between place, the environment, and suicide methods. To increase knowledge about specific methods and mechanisms of injury in suicide deaths, higher resolution data for surveillance and epidemiology is required. Data that can be used to better discern patterns about specific locations and materials used in suicide and self-harm will support efforts to uncover new directions for prevention.

Language: en

Keywords

built environment; epidemiology; means restriction; place; suicide; surveillance