Grant: Planning and Dissemination Grant - Institute Community Support

Approximately four thousand people die by suicide, on average, every year in Canada. Although suicide is a complex phenomenon that is the result of the interaction between various biological, social, cultural, and environmental factors, it is preventable. Data collected by coroners and medical examiners in their investigations could prove highly useful in identifying targets for suicide prevention efforts, as they have direct and privileged access to the decedent's family as well as to additional sources of information, such as police and toxicology reports, and their medical record. This grant will 1) facilitate a literature review to identify key knowledge gaps pertaining to the science and prevention of suicide in Canada which could be filled using coroner/medical examiner data, and 2) the establishment a network of key stakeholders who will be engaged in two full day hybrid (virtual and in-person) meetings. The outcome of the project will be a synthesis report for dissemination among stakeholders, and a full-scale grant application for a quantitative study using coroner/medical examiner data to inform suicide prevention efforts in Canada. This project aligns with the Institute of Population and Public Health mandate in that it will bring together a multidisciplinary team of public health stakeholders to conduct research into the biological, social, cultural, and environmental factors that interact with one another to lead to suicide. Further, we will foster knowledge on suicide and related factors that will in turn improve the health of individuals and populations.