Communication strategies
| Study | Design | Time period | Country (region) | Intervention | Results | Direction of association |
| Etzersdorfer and Sonneck 1998S2 | Prospective Field Experiment | 1980–1996 | Austria (Vienna) | National media reporting guidelines for suicide were released in mid–1987. | Following the implementation of the media reporting standards the number of people who died by suicide on the Viennese subway system dropped from nine in 1987 to two in 1988. | Total: - |
| Niederkrotenthaler and Sonneck, 2007S3 | Interrupted time series | 1946–2005 | Austria | National media reporting guidelines for suicide were released in mid–1987. | The media guidelines were associated with a significant reduction in the number of annual suicide mortalities (β=−80.95; 95% CI −149.11 to –12.78; p=0.024). | Total: -- |
| Till et al 2013S4 | Pre–post, with control group | 2011 | Austria (Styria) | In 2011, the city of Styria launched an awareness campaign through billboards and info screens in public areas aimed at suicide prevention and increasing help seeking behaviours. | There was a small increase in the number of suicide mortalities from 52 during the control period (January–March) to 69 during the intervention period (April–June) in 2011 (χ²=1.13; p=0.28). | Total: + |
| Matsubayashi et al 2014S5 | Time series | 2010–2012 | Japan (Nagoya) | In 2009, a city-wide campaign was launched to increase the awareness of depression and heighten help seeking behaviours. | There was a significant decrease in the number of suicides 2 months following the distribution of campaign materials (incidence rate ratio=0.97; 95% CI 0.96 to 97). The impact was greater in men compared with women. | Total: -- Male: -- Female: -- |
+, not statistically significant increase; -, not statistically significant reduction; β, beta coefficient; --, statistically significant reduction; ++, statistically significant increase.