The "suicide Guard Rail": A minimal structural intervention in hospitals reduces suicide jumps

Abstract

Background: Jumping from heights is a readily available and lethal method of suicide. This study examined the effectiveness of a minimal structural intervention in preventing suicide jumps at a Swiss general teaching hospital. Following a series of suicide jumps out of the hospitals windows, a metal guard rail was installed at each window of the high-rise building. Results: In the 114 months prior to the installation of the metal guard rail, 10 suicides by jumping out of the hospitals windows occurred among 119,269 inpatients. This figure was significantly reduced to 2 fatal incidents among 104,435 inpatients treated during the 78 months immediately following the installation of the rails at the hospitals windows χ2 = 4.34, df = 1, p = .037). Conclusions: Even a minimal structural intervention might prevent suicide jumps in a general hospital. Further work is needed to examine the effectiveness of minimal structural interventions in preventing suicide jumps. © 2012 Mohl et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.