Project Background
Suicide is a complex public health issue, influenced by the broader social, economic, and environmental conditions in which people live.
Funded by the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP), this project was led by the NSRF and involved an umbrella review of existing literature to explore the link between suicide mortality and the World Health Organization’s ten defined social determinants of health.
Project Aims
The findings aim to inform future suicide prevention policy and research by identifying the most influential social determinants and highlighting critical gaps in the current evidence base.
- To synthesise the existing evidence on the association between social determinants of health and suicide mortality.
- To assess the quality of existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses on this topic.
- To highlight gaps in the literature and recommend areas for future research.
- To help inform population-level suicide prevention strategies through an evidence-based understanding of social and economic risk factors.
Team Members Involved
NSRF project members:
Ms. Kerrie Gallagher, Ms. Grace Phillips, Dr. Paul Corcoran, Dr. Michelle O’ Driscoll and Dr. Eve Griffin
External project members:
Prof. Stephen Platt (University of Edinburgh), Dr. Heather McClelland (University of Glasgow)
Recent Publications
Infographic
Peer-Reviewed Article:
Gallagher K*, Phillips G*, Corcoran P, Platt S, McClelland H, O’Driscoll M, Griffin E. The social determinants of suicide: an umbrella review. Epidemiologic Reviews, Volume 47, Issue 1, 2025.
*Kerrie Gallagher and Grace Phillips contributed equally to this work and share joint first authorship.
