A community profile on suicide and self-harm in Waterloo Region, 2019: Waterloo Region Suicide Prevention Council Research Committee phase one report

This report presents detailed research findings on suicide and self-harm in Waterloo Region. The intended audience for this report includes community service providers and decision makers to support evidence-informed program and service planning decisions. As a research committee, we aimed to be thorough in the examination of the available data to better understand the issue of suicide and self-harm in our community. One aspect examined in this report is the mechanism of injury for self-harm injury or suicide death. We recognize the sensitivity of presenting even statistical information on these topics and have sought to present these findings in an objective way that respects guidelines for reporting1 and minimizes the risk for potential harm to readers. Restricting access to means for suicide is widely accepted as one of the most effective suicide prevention strategies2 and is best informed by research evidence on most prevalent mechanisms of injury in the local community. We also recognize the general topics of self-harm and suicide can be difficult and could induce feelings of emotional distress.