Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 27;20(3):2281.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20032281.

Understanding for Prevention: Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Suicide Notes and Forensic Reports

Yolanda Mejías-Martín  1   2 , Celia Martí-García  3 , Yolanda Rodríguez-Mejías  1 , Ana Alejandra Esteban-Burgos  2   4 , Víctor Cruz-García  5 , María Paz García-Caro  2   6   7
Affiliations

Understanding for Prevention: Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Suicide Notes and Forensic Reports

Yolanda Mejías-Martín et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Suicide risk is associated with vulnerabilities and specific life events. The study's objective was to explore the relevance of data from forensic documentation on suicide deaths to the design of person-centered preventive strategies. Descriptive and thematic analyses were conducted of forensic observations of 286 deaths by suicide, including some with suicide notes. Key findings included the influence of health-and family-related adverse events, emotional states of loss and sadness, and failures of the health system to detect and act on signs of vulnerability, as confirmed by the suicide notes. Forensic documentation provides useful information to improve the targeting of preventive campaigns.

Keywords: forensic reports; qualitative research; suicide; suicide notes; suicide prevention.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

References

    1. Blanco C. Suicide in Spain. Institutional and Social Response. Rev. Cienc. Soc. 2020;33:79–106. doi: 10.26489/rvs.v33i46.5. - DOI
    1. WHO . Prevención Del Suicidio (SUPRE) World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.
    1. WHO . Suicide Worldwide in 2019: Global Health Estimates. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.
    1. WHO . Live Life: An Implementation Guide for Suicide Prevention in Countries. World Health Organization; Geneva, Switzerland: 2021.
    1. Eurostat Causes of Death-Standardised Death Rate by NUTS 2 Region of Residence [Hlth_cd_asdr2]. Death Due to Suicide, by Sex. [(accessed on 1 January 2020)]. Available online: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-datasets/-/hlth_cd_asdr2.