Citation

Beringuel BM, de Barros Canuto IM, Silva APSC, Do Bonfim CV. Trends Psychol. 2021; 29(1): 123-138.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Brazilian Society of Psychology, Publisher Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s43076-020-00054-y

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Suicide is a worldwide public health problem. Spatial analysis techniques are useful to describe suicide patterns in different regions, identifying priority areas. The present study sought to describe the spatiotemporal pattern of suicides in the state of Pernambuco (Brazil) from 1999 to 2018. This is an ecological study with suicide data recorded in the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM--Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade). Thematic maps of the gross mean coefficients and local empirical Bayes method were developed to investigate the suicide spatial pattern in two decades. Spatial autocorrelation and critical clusters were verified using the Global Moran's Index and local indicators of spatial association. There were 6610 suicides. The mortality rate was 5.2 and 5.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in the first and second decades, respectively. Hanging was the most common method: 41.5% (1999-2008) and 56.1% (2009-2018). The moderate spatial autocorrelation of suicide was found: I = 0.5375 (1999-2008) and I = 0.6597 (2009-2018). Two critical clusters were identified in each period. There were 18 critical municipalities in the first decade and 29 in the second. Critical areas for suicide were identified in the Brazilian mesoregions of São Francisco, Sertão, and Agreste. This finding could contribute toward developing prevention strategies that are more effective and that consider each population's inherent characteristics. © 2020, Associação Brasileira de Psicologia.

Language: en

Keywords

Violence; Mortality; Spatial analysis; External causes; Spatiotemporal clusters