Suicidality in Rural Communities: A Scoping Review of Research in Canada

Abstract

A scoping review of research about suicidality in rural and remote Canadian communities, published between 2009 and July 2020 was conducted by searching Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, SocIndex, Geobase, and PsycArticles databases. Included articles were reviewed and charted using data extraction. Thirty-nine Canadian, non-Indigenous articles met inclusion. Most publications were based on quantitative research (23). Apart from one intervention study, articles were prevention focused, with suicidality risk and protective factors noted to be of particular interests. The most frequently referenced suicidality risk factor was rural residence. It is anticipated that results of this review will inform future research, particularly the need to include qualitative and mixed methodologies, protocol, and evaluations of interventions as well as postvention research, with further consideration of different Canadian settings and populations.

Is the association between sexual minority status and suicide-related behaviours modified by rurality? A discrete-time survival analysis using longitudinal health administrative data

“…As of 2016, only 30% of rural schools had regular access to social workers (vs 61% in urban), and only 15% had a regularly scheduled psychologist (vs. 46% in urban) 40 . An economic divide also exists between rural and urban areas: the recent Labour Force Survey shows that regions in Ontario within census metropolitan areas (CMA) generated 865,000 new jobs from 2008 to 2019, while areas outside of CMAs saw a decline of 76,000 jobs 41 .…”

“…Concurrently, the regional median after-tax income of Ontario households has historically been lower in rural areas 41 .…”

Suicide risk in U.S. adults: Alcohol misuse, veteran status, and urbanization comparison.

“…Additionally, people who reside in rural areas also have disproportionately elevated suicide risk (CDC, 2023a;Handley et al, 2012;Rauch et al, 2023). In both nonveteran and veteran samples, suicide rates are consistently higher in rural areas compared to urban areas (Mohatt et al, 2021; U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2022b), yet it is much less understood why suicide risk in these samples differ (Compton et al, 2021;Murray-Swank et al, 2018).…”

“…Additionally, people who reside in rural areas also have disproportionately elevated suicide risk (CDC, 2023a; Handley et al, 2012; Rauch et al, 2023). In both nonveteran and veteran samples, suicide rates are consistently higher in rural areas compared to urban areas (Mohatt et al, 2021; U.…”