A public health and suicide risk in Jamaica from 2002 to 2006

Globally, suicide is the third leading cause of mortality among persons aged 15-44 years. However in Jamaica it is not among the leading cause of mortality; but its importance cannot be ignored because of this fact.

This study seeks to 1) update the prevalence of suicide in Jamaica, 2) make comparisons with international data, 3) provide an understanding of age-sex composition of those who are committing suicides, and 4) provide public health practitioners with valuable information which will be used to inform policy decisions.

Secondary data published by the Jamaica Constabulary Force was used for this study. Data were summarized using percentages and associations were examined by Kruskal-Wallis or Analysis of Variance.

The suicide rate averaged 2.26 per 100,000 over the last six years. In 2006, the suicide rate for males was 9 times higher than that of females. The group of 65-74 age, among the male population, recorded the highest suicide rate (11.3 per 100,000) and the 5-14 age group recorded the lowest (0.3 per 100,000). The highest rate for the female population (3.4 per 100,000) was recorded in the 65-74 age group. The 30-39 age group showed an overall higher rate of suicide over the study period, this was followed by the 40-49 age group.

Jamaica's suicide rate is among the lowest in the world and in spite of this, there is a need to formulate a suicide policy for the nation in particular males and young adults.