Geographic distribution of suicide and railway suicide in Belgium, 2008–2013: a principal component analysis

Mathieu Strale, Karolina Krysinska, Gaëtan Van Overmeiren, Karl Andriessen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the geographic distribution of suicide and railway suicide in Belgium over 2008--2013 on local (i.e., district or arrondissement) level. There were differences in the regional distribution of suicide and railway suicides in Belgium over the study period. Principal component analysis identified three groups of correlations among population variables and socio-economic indicators, such as population density, unemployment, and age group distribution, on two components that helped explaining the variance of railway suicide at a local (arrondissement) level. This information is of particular importance to prevent suicides in high-risk areas on the Belgian railway network.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)232-244
Number of pages13
JournalInternational Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion
Volume24
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 3 Apr 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Belgium
  • geographic distribution
  • hotspots
  • principal component analysis
  • railway
  • suicide

Cite this