According to New York University, an analysis by researchers shows that three categories of policies have the potential to prevent suicide: Limiting access to lethal means, improve access to mental health services, address underlying risk factors, including those that increase economic security and limit access to alcohol and tobacco.
An analysis by New York University researchers determines which public policies effectively prevent suicide deaths in the United States. But it’s not just policies that limit guns and expand access to health care – many economic and social policies that aren’t explicitly focused on mental health can also prevent suicide (see article)
“Most policies that demonstrate the evidence do not mention suicide and were not adopted to prevent suicide. These are policies that aim to solve other problems – for example, raising the minimum wage to promote economic security or reducing alcohol consumption – but they have positive spillover effects in that they also prevent suicides »said Jonathan Purtle, associate professor of public health policy and management at New York University’s School of Global Health and lead author of the study.
“This research highlights the importance of taking into account social determinants in suicide prevention”said Michael A. Lindsey, dean and Paulette Goddard professor of social work at the NYU Silver School of Social Work and co-author of the study. “An individual’s mental well-being is influenced not only by clinical factors, but also by their environment, situation and experience.”
Increase political activity to meet a growing need
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, and rates have increased over the past two decades. Public policies, including laws passed by elected officials and regulations adopted by public agencies, play an important role in reducing deaths due to suicide. While suicide is considered in some federal policies, most public health policy authority is at the state level.
In their article in the Annual Public Health Reviewresearchers analyzed the number of state bills passed that mention suicide over the past two decades, as well as the volume of state lawmakers’ social media posts on the topic — an indicator of policy priority . They saw a dramatic increase in both cases, especially starting in 2017.
“Our analysis suggests that policymakers recognize that suicide is a public health problem and are trying to address it, and there are bipartisan concerns,” Purtle said.
Policies that work
Although many studies have examined the impact of different policies on suicide risk, until now there has been no analysis that collectively examines the research to better understand which policies are most effective.
To develop this analysis, Purtle, Lindsey and their colleagues reviewed more than 100 studies and discovered three categories of policies that research shows have the potential to prevent suicide:
- Policies that limit access to lethal means (e.g. safe gun storage policies and waiting times for gun purchases, installation of barriers on bridges)
- Policies to improve access to mental health services (e.g., Medicaid expansion, laws requiring insurance to cover mental health care)
- Policies to address underlying risk factors for suicide, including those that increase economic security (e.g. minimum wage laws, paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, supplemental nutrition program), prohibit discrimination (e.g. sexual protection and gender identity in employment laws hate crimes) and limit access to alcohol and tobacco
While policies in all three categories are likely to reduce suicide deaths, the researchers found that policies aimed at improving economic security, limiting access to alcohol, and restricting access to lethal means have the strongest evidence.
-“Access to alcohol and the means to commit suicide, as well as poverty, are all known risk factors for suicide”Lindsey said. “Our research suggests that a great starting point for saving lives is to fund and adopt public policies that target these three areas.”
Furthermore, while some of the most effective policies focus on improving long-term well-being, others, including those related to guns and other lethal means, aim to make it more difficult making rapid decisions that can have fatal consequences.
“Suicide is often an impulsive act”Purtle said. “Anything you can do to delay impulsivity on average will be beneficial and prevent suicide from a public health perspective.” »
Guns are the most common and deadliest method of suicide, although research into gun violence has long been hampered by a federal law that blocks funding for this work. However, evidence began to emerge over the past decade on gun policy and suicide risk, allowing researchers to include it in their analysis.
The review identified studies that found that having a gun in the home significantly increases the risk of suicide and that policies to limit access to guns can reduce that risk. Although not all gun policies were found to be equally effective, laws requiring a waiting period for gun purchases were moderately effective in preventing suicides. Additionally, laws setting more restrictive age limits for firearm purchases and those requiring safe storage of firearms in the home – with consequences for adults who do not safely secure firearms firearms – reduce suicide deaths among youth.
More data needed
Researchers highlighted several areas of research that need attention, including the new 988 suicide hotline for people in suicide and crisis situations. Purtle leads NIH-funded research into the implementation and impact of policies on the hotline, with recent studies describing the increase in call volume during its first two years, experience users, and how federal investments and state investments in 988 have strengthened the capacity of these systems.
The authors also call for greater research on technology and youth mental health, including the impact of age-based restrictions on social media, school cell phone bans, and policies that prevent exposure to content harm linked to online suicide. Early efforts to reduce online harm largely allowed tech companies to self-regulate, but in recent years there have been growing efforts to implement policies to protect young people from the potential harms of technology .
“The policy landscape has changed so quickly, but it will take time to study these changes, so we don’t yet have solid evidence of what works”Purtle said.
Amanda Mauri of the New York University School of Global Public Health and Katherine Keyes of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health were additional authors on the study. The research is supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH131649).
Press release of January 7, 2025, New York University
