Preventing suicide by jumping in public locations: a systematic review of interventions
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Preventing suicide by jumping in public locations: a systematic review of interventions

Benjamin Chamberlain Senior mental health practitioner, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, England
Samuel Woodnutt Director of programmes, Nursing and Midwifery, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To enhance your awareness of interventions aimed at preventing suicide by jumping in public locations

  • To find out about the evidence on public health measures that restrict people’s access to means of suicide

  • To develop a better understanding of confounders in research on preventing suicide by jumping

Death by suicide is a significant global concern. Research and clinical practice have often focused on suicide prevention through mental health interventions and means restriction measures, but there is a lack of consideration of public health initiatives. This article details a systematic review of quantitative studies on interventions designed to prevent suicide by jumping at high-frequency sites. A total of 14 studies were included. Ten studies reported a statistically significant reduction in suicide rates after the implementation of simple measures such as barriers, fences, screen doors or nets, so these may be cost-effective ways for local authorities to prevent suicide by jumping. However, once interventions are in place at one or more jump sites, people may select a site outside the area – or another means of suicide. To limit the risk of substitution for another location, there is a need to consider interventions that encourage help-seeking, such as signs, telephones and crisis phone lines.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1681

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

bchamberlain92@outlook.com

Conflict of interest

None declared

Chamberlain B, Woodnutt S (2024) Preventing suicide by jumping in public locations: a systematic review of interventions. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2024.e1681

Published online: 28 February 2024

Want to read more?

RCNi-Plus
Already have access? Log in

or

3-month trial offer for £5.25/month

Subscribe today and save 50% on your first three months
RCNi Plus users have full access to the following benefits:
  • Unlimited access to all 10 RCNi Journals
  • RCNi Learning featuring over 175 modules to easily earn CPD time
  • NMC-compliant RCNi Revalidation Portfolio to stay on track with your progress
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
  • A customisable dashboard with over 200 topics
Subscribe

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now


Are you a student? Our student subscription has content especially for you.
Find out more