Unleashing the potential of systems modeling and simulation in supporting policy-making and resource allocation for suicide prevention

Over 700,000 people die by suicide every year (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Despite increasing
investment in suicide prevention activities from many governments worldwide, rates have continued to rise over the past 30 years (Yip et al., 2022). This is because suicide is complex and addressing this complexity is our Achilles heel. There are several factors that contribute to the complexity behind suicide. First and foremost, suicide is rarely the outcome of a single factor. Many suicide deaths are associated with a gradual and increasing build-up of vulnerability associated with multiple, interacting, and interrelated biological, psychological, socioeconomic, cultural, and political factors (Hawton et al., 2012). Put simply, there are many and different pathways that could lead to suicide. This equifinality means that mapping the causal processes and interactions that underlie suicidal behavior, at least within the context of the methodological approaches currently favored by the field (e.g., meta-analyses, regression models), can be very challenging (Franklin et al., 2017).