IMPROVING PROCEDURES FOR RECORDING SUICIDE STATISTICS

Objective - To explore the changing relationship between rates of suic ide and undetermined death in Britain and Ireland. Design - Longitudin al analysis of the official statistics relating to unnatural deaths in England and Wales and the Republic of Ireland between 1976 and 1992. Main outcome measures - Male and female rates of suicide and undetermi ned deaths for Ireland and England and Wales, age adjusted to the stan dard world population, Ratio of undetermined deaths to suicide. Result s - The official Irish male suicide rate is now much higher than that of England and Wales while the female rates are broadly similar, The r ate of undetermined deaths has risen amongst English males and remaine d stable for females but has significantly fallen off among both Irish males and females. The proportion of deaths classified as 'undetermin ed' is now very much less in Ireland than in England and Wales. Discus sion - National plans for suicide prevention in either country cannot be properly audited unless improved procedures are put in place to inc rease the validity and reliability of the official suicide figures, Ea ch country could beneficially learn from the other in this regard.