Citation

Huggins RM, Hall P, Yip PS, Bui QM. Biometrics 2007; 63(3): 708-713.

Affiliation

Centre for Mathematics and its Applications, Mathematical Sciences Institute, Australian National University, Canberra 0200 ACT, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Biometric Society, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1541-0420.2006.00727.x

PMID

17825004

Abstract

A semivarying coefficient model for the monthly numbers of suicides in Hong Kong is developed and a new estimation procedure for estimating the parametric component is proposed. The estimators are examined in a small simulation study and fitted to monthly suicide data to estimate a nonparametric long-term trend and parametric seasonal and socioeconomic effects. Fitting the model detected interpretable structure in the data that is consistent with that driving public health policy. While exploratory, the analysis motivates the collection of more detailed data and the development of more sophisticated models to help determine target groups and strategies to reduce the suicide rate in Hong Kong.

Language: en