Effects of a Province-Based Strategy to Prevent Suicide Using Charcoal Burning: A Preliminary Time Series Analysis

• Published in: Psychiatry investigation Vol. 16; no. 8; pp. 621 - 624
• Main Authors: Jo, Sun-Jin, Yun, Mi Kyung, Lee, Myung-Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Neuropsychiatric Association 01-08-2019; 대한신경정신의학회
• Subjects: Brief Report; 정신과학; Charcoal burning; Restriction to means; Suicide; Time series analysis
• ISSN: 1738-3684; 1976-3026
• DOI: 10.30773/pi.2019.06.13

The suicide rate in Korea has been declining steadily after peaking in 2011. However, to date, time-series analyses of Korean suicide rate data have mainly addressed factors related to increases in suicide rates. This study analyzed one of the most important evidence-based public health strategies to decrease suicide, that is, preventive effects of restricting access to lethal means via a charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign, using multivariate time series analysis. The results showed the campaign in Gyeonggi Province had a significant effect on decreasing the number of charcoal-burning suicides in this area. It is believed that the present study has important implications in terms of providing the first empirical evidence for the charcoal-selling procedure improvement campaign in Korea. Further repeated research is needed to evaluate the impact of the intervention when the more enough observational data become available.