Re:Suicide has become rarer during the pandemic
by timr on Friday April 23, 2021 @11:15AM
(#26915574)
That's fine, but seems to be making the same error as the article: numbers from the very beginning of the pandemic are perhaps not representative of the whole story. Particularly so when the numbers are taken from specific sub-populations.
Re:Suicide has become rarer during the pandemic
by whimsicalism on Friday April 23, 2021 @11:47AM
(#26915938)
The article numbers have comparative analysis of data dating to October.
We are really stretching the definition of "very beginning".
> According to the report, about 30 fewer veterans died by suicide in the five months after the start of the pandemic, compared with the same time frame before the outbreak.
> Known suicide attempts dropped sharply. They had fluctuated between 300 and nearly 600 each week before the pandemic, but numbered between 230 and 340 each week after.
> On-campus suicide attempts also dropped sharply in the early weeks of the pandemic, but they rose in July. However, the number was still small, with 24 attempts that month.
Are "on-campus" attempts tracked by any other organization?
Also,
> VA officials cautioned, however, that it is too early to tell how the closure of VA clinics and hospitals, as well as restrictions on medical services during the pandemic, play into the findings.