Are national suicide prevention programs effective? A comparison of 4 verum and 4 control countries over 30 years

Background
Suicide and non-fatal suicidal behavior are significant public health issues worldwide requiring effective preventive interventions.

Methods
The aim of the present study was to analyze the effectiveness of national suicide prevention programs taking a statistical approach involving the segmented regression analysis of interrupted time series data.

Results
This study demonstrates that National Suicide Prevention Programs are effective, but this effect seems to correlate with age and sex. Our data have shown a statistical significant decline in suicide rates in the verum countries in males, with the strongest effects in groups aged 25-to-44 years and 45-to-64 years.

Conclusion
Our study implies that the implementation of a national strategy is an effective tool to reduce suicide rates.