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> From a public health perspective, a 50% reduction in suicide by firearm would save more lives than the complete elimination of HIV deaths or cervical cancer
by clarkm 13y ago
> From a public health perspective, a 50% reduction in suicide by firearm would save more lives than the complete elimination of HIV deaths or cervical cancer deaths or uterine cancer deaths.
That's not necessarily true. Various methods of suicide are subject to substitution effects. As shown by several recent studies in Australia, a decline in the share of suicides by firearm results in a consummate rise in suicides by hanging.
- brudgers 13y agoThe commonly cited studies supporting the 'substitution' hypothesis are based on data right up to the point when Australia's rate began to decline and tend to be short on demographic analysis. The correlation was found at a time of increasing male suicides where most of the increase was by hanging. http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/bulletin23/bulletin23-3.html http://www.nisu.flinders.edu.au/pubs/bulletin23/bulletin23-3... Note also that the substitution hypothesis is not consistent with the overall decline in female suicides during the same period. This more recent Harvard study indicates that reducing the lethality of suicide means correlates with a decline in deaths. Interestingly, it postulates that the age demographic which saw an increase in hanging deaths was the same younger population more likely to be familiar with sexual asphyxia and thus the mechanics of hanging while older males did not see a significant decline in firearm suicides. http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10579072/3434145.pdf?sequence=1 http://dash.harvard.edu/bitstream/handle/1/10579072/3434145....