Mass shootings in Australia and New Zealand: A descriptive study of incidence Mass shootings in Australia and New Zealand: A descriptive study of incidence

Abstrac

Recent Australian suicide trends for males and females at the national level: Has the rate of decline differed?

Objectives In keeping with international public health policy development, suicide prevention in Australia has received increasing attention. The mid to late 1990s saw the introduction of a range of co-ordinated national prevention programmes. Since 1997, suicides have decreased, but the comparative rates of decline for males and females have not been well studied at the national level.Methods Standardised suicide rates were calculated for males and females, using data from 1997 to 2005. Linear models (ordinary least squares) were used to calculate rates of decline, with trends compared for males and females.Results Male suicides appear to have fallen more rapidly than female suicides.Conclusions Australian males, an 'at risk' demographic, appear to be experiencing benefits from the existence of current national suicide prevention strategies and related social changes. It is recommended that greater consideration be given to researching risk factors such as intimate partner violence, sexual abuse, and substance dependence, for Australian female suicide.

A regional approach to understanding farmer suicide rates in Queensland

Purpose Elevated suicide rates among farmers have been observed across a number of countries, including Australia. However, studies on farmer suicide have typically treated farmers as a homogenous group, and have predominately been focussed at a national level. This overlooks potential variability in suicide rates (and, by extension, contributory factors) within different groups of farmers (for example, different age groups), as well as across different geographical locations.Methods Using a unique data source, the Queensland Suicide Register, the current study examined variation in farmer suicide rates by age, sex, and location within Queensland.Results Although farmer suicide rates varied substantially across different regions of Queensland, no significant associations were found between rates of farmer and non-farmer suicide, or between the proportion of farmers in a region and farmer suicide rates.Conclusions This suggests that farmer suicide may be characterised by unique combinations of occupational and location-related effects that are likely to vary substantially within and between different regions, and provides caution against treating farmer suicide as a homogenous phenomenon. The highest rates of farmer suicide were observed among younger farmers (aged 18-34 years), highlighting a need for targeted suicide prevention initiatives for this group