Coroner Records Study: A Description of Suicide in Ottawa, 2011-2014
Status: Completed
Project Lead: Dr. Simon Hatcher (PI)
Main Research Contact: Nicole Edgar
Funded By: University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute (uOBMRI)
Suicide is a leading cause of death in Canada, with about 4,000 people dying by suicide each year [1]. While great care and effort goes into the investigation of suicide deaths by the coroner, the results of these investigations are rarely used to inform local suicide prevention efforts.
To address this, we conducted a chart review of suicide death records at the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario. We reviewed all suicide death records for the Champlain Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) from January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2014.
The goals of this study included:
To describe the demographics of people who died by suicide in the Champlain LHIN from 2011-2014.
To describe the methods used among people who died by suicide in the Champlain LHIN from 2011-2014.
To identify the geographic regions* where suicide deaths occurred most frequently to inform targeted suicide prevention strategies in these areas.
*Geographic data was informed by the last known address of the deceased and not the region where the death occurred as this data was often unavailable.