Firearms access, mental health and suicide risk
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Firearms access, mental health and risk of death by suicide: a population-wide data linkage study
IRAS ID
273229
Contact name
Aideen Maguire
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 11 months, 30 days
Research summary
Death by suicide is a major public health concern with suicide rates increasing across the UK and the highest rates being observed in Northern Ireland (NI). Strategies to reduce suicide are not well advanced though restricting access to means is a key principle in effective suicide prevention. In the USA, there is clear evidence that access to a firearm increases risk of suicide for firearm owners but there are few equivalent UK studies. Owners of legally held firearms (excluding serving Police Officers/Military) must hold a Firearms Certificate (FAC). A register of all FAC holders is maintained by the Police Service and can be linked to other administrative data sources to identify FAC holders, their mental health status and suicide risk.
Aims:
This project proposes to link FAC data to GP patient registration data, prescribed medication data and death records within a secure data environment to explore the mental and cognitive health of FAC holders and subsequent risk of suicide. Prescribed medication will be used as a proxy of cognitive/mental ill-health and death records will allow for the identification of firearms related deaths, including suicide. All data will be anonymised before being made available to the research team. Specifically, the project aims:(i) To determine the mental and cognitive health profile of FAC holders
(ii) To determine if access to a firearm increases the risk of mortality due to a firearm related death, including suicide.REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1798
Date of REC Opinion
11 Nov 2019
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion