Suicide rates differences between rural and urban Georgia
Abstract
Background: Suicide remains a major public health concern in the United States. Recent research reported a 35% increase in suicide rates between 2000 and 2018, with significantly higher rates in rural areas (Martínez-Alés et al., 2022). National data points to an upward trend in suicide among 15-17 years old African Americans (Sheftall et al., 2022) and 10-12 years old Hispanics (Price & Khubchandani, 2022). These trends have been attributed to structural racism, economic factors, and social isolation. Recent restrictions during the COVID pandemic have been associated with increased suicide in multiple countries. We analyzed suicide data for Georgia and compared rates across rural/urban locations, race groups, gender, and age groups between 2011 to 2021.
Methods: Data were downloaded from the Online Analytical and Statistical Analysis System database of the Georgia Public Health Association and analyzed with IBM SPSS 27.
Findings: Preliminary data analysis indicates that significant differences were noted between urban and rural people of 5-12, 13-19, 30-44, 45-59, and 60-74 age groups (p>0.05). There were also significant sex differences in the suicide death rates in urban and rural Georgia counties (p>0.05). Rural male and rural female suicide rates were higher than urban male and female rates (p>0.001).
Conclusion: Understanding the distribution of suicide rates is essential for designing public health programs to prevent suicide.
Keywords
Suicide, geographic disparities, gender disparities, demographic disparities
Suicide rates differences between rural and urban Georgia
Background: Suicide remains a major public health concern in the United States. Recent research reported a 35% increase in suicide rates between 2000 and 2018, with significantly higher rates in rural areas (Martínez-Alés et al., 2022). National data points to an upward trend in suicide among 15-17 years old African Americans (Sheftall et al., 2022) and 10-12 years old Hispanics (Price & Khubchandani, 2022). These trends have been attributed to structural racism, economic factors, and social isolation. Recent restrictions during the COVID pandemic have been associated with increased suicide in multiple countries. We analyzed suicide data for Georgia and compared rates across rural/urban locations, race groups, gender, and age groups between 2011 to 2021.
Methods: Data were downloaded from the Online Analytical and Statistical Analysis System database of the Georgia Public Health Association and analyzed with IBM SPSS 27.
Findings: Preliminary data analysis indicates that significant differences were noted between urban and rural people of 5-12, 13-19, 30-44, 45-59, and 60-74 age groups (p>0.05). There were also significant sex differences in the suicide death rates in urban and rural Georgia counties (p>0.05). Rural male and rural female suicide rates were higher than urban male and female rates (p>0.001).
Conclusion: Understanding the distribution of suicide rates is essential for designing public health programs to prevent suicide.
