ArticleGlobal health action2021
Macro-level mental health system indicators and cross-national suicide rates.
Article in Global health action, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prevalence of suicidal behavior in nigeria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Quality assessment of youth mental health policies in China based on the policy modelling consistency index model.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of suicide prevention studies with data on youth and young adults living in low-income and middle-income countries.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- The trend of self-harm incidence rates among adolescents in low- and lower-middle-income countries and its associated contextual factors.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2026Article
- Social Determinants and Developmental Factors Influencing Suicide Risk and Self-Injury in Healthcare Contexts.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- The engaged community action for preventing suicide (ECAPS) model in Latin America: development of the ¡PEDIR! program.Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundThe relationship between macro-level mental health system indicators and population suicide rates is an area of contention in the literature, necessitating an analysis of current cross-national data to document any new trend in the relationship.
objectiveThis study investigated whether mental health system indicators are associated with national suicide rates.
methodUsing an ecological study design and multivariate non-parametric robust regression models, data on suicide rates and mental health system indicators of 191 countries retrieved from WHOs 2017 Mental Health Atlas were compared.
resultsFindings revealed that the average suicide mortality rate was significantly higher in high- income countries, relative to low-income countries. High-income countries are significantly more likely to have high number of mental health professionals, mental health policies and legislation, independent mental health authority and suicide prevention programs. These mental health system indicators demonstrated significant and positive association with suicide, suggesting that countries scoring high on these factors have higher odds of being categorized as high suicide risk countries.
conclusionThe findings have several implications for policy and practice, including the need to make existing mental health systems very responsive to suicide prevention.
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