Suicide on the Railways in Belgium: A Typology of Locations and Potential for Prevention

Suicide on railway networks comprises a serious public health problem. However, the geographical distribution and the environmental risk factors remain unclear. This study analyzed the geographic distribution of railway suicides in Belgium from 2008⁻2013 at the level of a railway section (average length of 3.5 km). Principal component analysis (PCA) identified three groups of correlations that helped explain the variance of railway suicide. The three groups are related to characteristics of urban spaces, psychiatric facilities, and railway traffic density. Based on the PCA results, the study f... Mehr ...