P-416 an Approach to Identify and Enumerate Work Related Suicide Cases

Introduction While most suicide deaths occur among people of working age, the role of work in protecting from, or increasing the risk of, suicide is a relatively inchoate area of research. Moreover, there is little consensus on how to identify and count work-related suicide. Methods Adopting an occupational health & safety perspective on work-related suicide, we assess evidence related to different work exposures and develop an integrated framework to guide the identification and enumeration of work-related suicide. Results We define work-related suicide as death by suicide that is wholly or partly related to—and caused by—work or working conditions. We find that work-related suicide likely accounts for at least 10-15% of suicide deaths worldwide. According to our proposed schematic, any death by suicide among those working for profit or pay should be considered in terms of potential work-related causes. These include whether the deceased: had access to means through their work; had an adverse experience arising from a work-related injury; was exposed to working conditions that increased the risk of suicide. Such conditions could include exposure to: trauma on the job; adverse physical, chemical or psychosocial working characteristics; normative work environment with high stigma and discouragement of helping behaviours; normative environment promoting extreme orientation to work. Discussion Our detailed schematic summarises potential work-related causes of suicide and provides a framework for the investigation of work-related suicides. Conclusion Work-related suicide represent a substantial preventable burden globally. Workplace suicide prevention activities require a stronger emphasis on improving working conditions.