Spatial Patterns and Neighborhood Characteristics of Overall Suicide Clusters in Florida From 2001 to 2010

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Suicide-Related Emergency Calls

“…Results have showed that suicide-related emergency calls are spatially patterned. This is in line with previous research that also suggested the unequal distribution of suicide across areas [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. However, more interestingly, results also indicate that suicide-related emergency calls have a quarterly effect, with a peak of calls in the second (April to June) and in the third trimester (July to September), and a decrease in the other trimesters.…”

“…Some studies have supported the relationship between neighborhood variables and different social outcomes such as family violence or crime [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. Likewise, previous research has suggested that areas with lower levels of socioeconomic status, higher rates of rurality, and highly fragmented areas would show higher risks of suicide behavior in their population [ 9 , 13 , 25 , 35 , 49 , 50 , 51 ]. Future studies would benefit from analyzing these neighborhood-level covariates and their influence in the spatial variations of suicide risks.…”

“…Although previous research has mainly focused on individual and familiar characteristics of suicide, an increasing number of studies have suggested that spatial patterns would also have an impact in suicide risk, in other words, that suicide would not be randomly distributed across the space, but subjected to underlying spatial patterns [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. In addition, other studies have shown the seasonality of suicide: previous research suggests that the prevalence of suicide deaths are not constant, but varies during the year [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

What calls for service tell us about suicide: A 7-year spatio-temporal analysis of neighborhood correlates of suicide-related calls

“…Our results showed that neighborhoods with lower levels of education and population density, and higher levels of residential instability, higher concentration of one-person households, and higher population aging had higher levels of suicide-related calls for service. These results are in line with previous research suggesting that social deprivation, social fragmentation, and low population density are closely related to suicide risk at the community level 8 – 11 , 13 , 15 , 45 .…”

“…Recently, a growing number of studies have suggested that neighborhood-level variables have an impact on suicide risk beyond individual-level factors 8 – 11 . Starting from the research of Congdon 12 , these studies point to the link between suicide risk and three sets of factors: social deprivation, social fragmentation, and rurality 8 , 9 , 13 , 14 . Neighborhood social deprivation, measured by different indicators such as poverty rate, unemployment, occupational social class, and education level, has been positively linked with suicide in a number of studies 9 , 14 – 16 .…”