Railway Suicides in Canada and Around the World: Agendas for Prevention and Research

Résumé

This presentation describes railway suicides, their characteristics and measures to prevent them in various contexts. We first present the prevalence of rail-related suicide in Canada and comparison with other countries to assess the adaptability of suicide prevention measures from other parts of the world to the Canadian context. We then review of existing railway suicide prevention practices and all published research on railway suicide prevention in order to identify potential intervention strategies whose implementation is feasible in the Canadian context. A detailed proposal for testing two strategies was developed: 1) Installation of telephones and signs near crossings and public access to tracks in order to reduce the incidence of railway suicide by providing access to help when the suicidal person is in crisis. 2) Training for mental health professionals in facilities near railway tracks, in order to prevent railway suicide by intervening better to prevent at risk people from planning and doing a suicide attempt. CANADA PRÉVENTION TRAIN MOYEN STRATÉGIE-NATIONALE INTERVENTION PRÉVALENCE