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BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2014

Open Access 01-12-2014 | Research article

The socio-environmental determinants of railway suicide: a systematic review

Authors: Lay San Too, Allison Milner, Lyndal Bugeja, Roderick McClure

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2014

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Abstract

Background

Railway suicide has significant adverse impacts for the victims, their family and friends, witnesses to the incident, general public and train network. There is no previous review on the socio-environmental factors and railway suicide. The research question asked in this review was: ‘What socio-environmental risk and protective predictors are significantly associated with railway suicide?’

Methods

The review searched Medline, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus for English-language studies that assessed the associations between socio-environmental (i.e. geographical, physical, economic and social) factors and railway suicide from their inception to June 2013. It was reported based on the PRISMA Statement.

Results

Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. They were categorised into railway environments (availability of railways and trains, accessibility to railways and familiarity with trains), population characteristics and impact of media reporting. Findings from ecological studies using population level railway suicide data suggested weak and inconsistent evidence for the first two categories. The evidence on the impact of media reporting was moderately strong, with irresponsible media reporting being associated with an increased risk of railway suicide.

Conclusions

There is a need for further research activity to strengthen evidence about socio-environmental risk factors for railway suicide. The focus of this research should be on the factors that determine individuals’ decisions of using the railway as a method of suicide, with the consideration of a range of geographical, physical, social, and economic factors.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The socio-environmental determinants of railway suicide: a systematic review
Authors
Lay San Too
Allison Milner
Lyndal Bugeja
Roderick McClure
Publication date
01-12-2014
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2014
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-20

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