Curtin University Homepage
  • Library
  • Help
    • Admin

    espace - Curtin’s institutional repository

    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
    View Item 
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item
    • espace Home
    • espace
    • Curtin Research Publications
    • View Item

    Suicide in adults released from prison in Queensland, Australia: a cohort study

    Access Status
    Fulltext not available
    Authors
    Spittal, M.
    Forsyth, S.
    Pirkis, J.
    Alati, Rosa
    Kinner, S.
    Date
    2014
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Spittal, M. and Forsyth, S. and Pirkis, J. and Alati, R. and Kinner, S. 2014. Suicide in adults released from prison in Queensland, Australia: a cohort study. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 68 (10): pp. 993-998.
    Source Title
    Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health
    DOI
    10.1136/jech-2014-204295
    ISSN
    1470-2738
    School
    School of Public Health
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/70870
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions. BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated elevated mortality following release from prison. We contrasted the risk of opioid overdose death with the risk of suicide in a cohort of adults released from prison in Queensland, Australia over a 14-year-period. We examine risk factors for suicide in the cohort, and make comparisons with the general population.METHOD: We constructed a retrospective cohort of all adults released from prison between 1994 and 2007 and linked this to the National Death Index for deaths up to 31 December 2007.RESULTS: We identified 41 970 individuals released from prison. Of the 2158 deaths in the community, 371 were suicides (crude mortality rate (CMR) 13.7/10 000 person-years) and 396 were due to drug-related causes (CMR 14.6/10 000 person-years). We observed a spike in drug-related deaths in the first 2 weeks after release from prison but no such pattern was observed for suicide. Being married (HR 0.40) and number of prior imprisonments (HR 3.1 for =5 prior incarcerations compared with none) independently predicted suicide. Age, sex, Indigenous status, length of incarceration and offence history were not associated with suicide. The standardised mortality ratios indicated that released women were 14.2 times and released men 4.8 times more likely to die from suicide than would be expected in the population.CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the rate of suicide in adults released from prison is similar to the rate of drug-related deaths. Strategies that provide support to vulnerable people after release may reduce suicide in this population.

    Related items

    Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

    • Self-harm following release from prison: A prospective data linkage study
      Borschmann, R.; Thomas, E.; Moran, P.; Carroll, M.; Heffernan, E.; Spittal, M.; Sutherland, G.; Alati, Rosa; Kinner, S. (2017)
      © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Objective: Prisoners are at increased risk of both self-harm and suicide compared with the general population, and the risk of suicide after release from ...
    • Striking subgroup differences in substance-related mortality after release from prison
      Forsyth, S.; Alati, Rosa; Ober, C.; Williams, G.; Kinner, S. (2014)
      © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction. AIMS: To compare the incidence, timing and risk factors for substance-related death between Indigenous and non-Indigenous ex-prisoners in Queensland, Australia.DESIGN: Retrospective ...
    • Acceptability of prison-based take-home naloxone programmes among a cohort of incarcerated men with a history of regular injecting drug use
      Curtis, M.; Dietze, P.; Aitken, C.; Kirwan, A.; Kinner, S.; Butler, Tony; Stoové, M. (2018)
      Background: Take-home naloxone (THN) programmes are an evidence-based opioid overdose prevention initiative. Elevated opioid overdose risk following prison release means release from custody provides an ideal opportunity ...
    Advanced search

    Browse

    Communities & CollectionsIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument TypeThis CollectionIssue DateAuthorTitleSubjectDocument Type

    My Account

    Admin

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Follow Curtin

    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 
    • 

    CRICOS Provider Code: 00301JABN: 99 143 842 569TEQSA: PRV12158

    Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy statement | Accessibility

    Curtin would like to pay respect to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of our community by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which the Perth campus is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation; and on our Kalgoorlie campus, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields.