Racial discrimination and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide mortality rates in Queensland

Article

Gibson, M., Leske, S., Ward, R., Rachow, A. and Kolves, K.. 2024. "Racial discrimination and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide mortality rates in Queensland." Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology: the international journal for research in social and genetic epidemiology and mental health services. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-024-02786-z
Article Title

Racial discrimination and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide mortality rates in Queensland

ERA Journal ID13116
Article CategoryArticle
AuthorsGibson, M., Leske, S., Ward, R., Rachow, A. and Kolves, K.
Journal TitleSocial Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology: the international journal for research in social and genetic epidemiology and mental health services
Number of Pages10
Year2024
PublisherSpringer
Place of PublicationGermany
ISSN0933-7954
1433-9285
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-024-02786-z
Web Address (URL)https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00127-024-02786-z
Abstract

Objective
The study aimed to examine the associations between experiences of racial discrimination within communities with suicide mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Methods
Age-standardised suicide rates (ASRs) were calculated using suicides recorded by the Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland from 2009 to 2015. Rate Ratios (RRs) were used to compare ASRs in areas with high and low levels of reported discrimination, and other comparative community-level risk and protective factors (remoteness, socio-economic resources, and Indigenous language use).

Results
The age-standardised suicide rate was 31.74 deaths per 100 000 persons/year for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for the years 2009–2015. ASRs were significantly higher in areas where more of the First Nations residents experienced recent discrimination (RR = 1.33; 95%CI = 1.05–1.70, p = 0.02), and the age-specific suicide rate was significantly higher for those aged 25–34 in areas with more discrimination (RR = 1.67; 95%CI = 1.04–2.74, p = 0.03). By comparison, the ASRs were not significantly higher in areas with regional and remote communities (RR = 1.10, CI 95%=0.75–1.61, p = 0.60), or areas with lower socioeconomic resources (RR = 0.86, 95%CI = 0.66–1.13, p = 0.28). Areas in which more First Nations residents spoke Indigenous languages had significantly lower ASRs (RR = 0.71; CI95%=0.53–0.95, p = 0.02).

Conclusion
Suicide mortality rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland were influenced by experiences of racial discrimination within communities and Indigenous language use, with greater associations reported than with socio-economic resources or remoteness. The findings reflect the public health risk of discrimination and provide evidence for enacting strategies to reduce institutional and personal discrimination to reduce suicide.

KeywordsRacism; Discrimination; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health; Indigenous wellbeing; Indigenous languages; Suicide
Contains Sensitive ContentContains sensitive content
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020450409. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services
Public Notes

The accessible file is the submitted version of the paper. Please refer to the URL for the published version.

Byline AffiliationsGriffith University
University of Queensland
Future Drought Fund Hub
Institute for Resilient Regions
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