The prevalence rates of suicide are likely underestimated worldwide: why it matters

Excerpt

Suicide is a significant public health problem worldwide. It is estimated that 800,000 people die by suicide every year [1]. When an individual dies, a cause of death is routinely determined and recorded on a death certificate. Most often, definitive suicides are determined accurately as suicides and recorded as such, providing a means of monitoring suicide rates for the region. These suicide rates are used as the basis for justifying and evaluating suicide prevention programming. However, when it comes to equivocal, possible or probable suicide cases, the reliability of suicide statistics becomes less certain [2]. A closer examination of these cases may change the way we look at suicide statistics. …