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Have urban/rural inequalities in suicide in New Zealand grown during the period 1980-2001?

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  • Pearce, Jamie
  • Barnett, Ross
  • Jones, Irfon

Abstract

Previous studies have noted that in many countries there has been a disproportionate increase in suicide in rural areas, contributing to greater urban/rural inequalities in health. This paper evaluates whether this trend was also apparent in New Zealand during the 1980s and 1990s, a period of rapid social and economic change. Using suicide incidence data for the period 1980-2001, we investigate whether urban/rural status had an effect upon rates of suicide independently of socioeconomic deprivation. While both male and female suicide rates were significantly higher in urban than rural areas in 1980-1982, by the end of the 1990s, urban/rural differences in suicide rates were not significant. The narrowing of urban/rural differences was, to some extent, a result of the growth in suicide rates in more isolated rural communities and small rural service centres. Recent geographical variations in suicide in New Zealand are therefore to a large extent similar to trends observed elsewhere, but are less marked. Potential explanations are offered for the fluctuating urban/rural inequalities in suicide including compositional arguments, rural restructuring and economic decline, social isolation and health service utilisation.

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  • Pearce, Jamie & Barnett, Ross & Jones, Irfon, 2007. "Have urban/rural inequalities in suicide in New Zealand grown during the period 1980-2001?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1807-1819, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:65:y:2007:i:8:p:1807-1819
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    5. Riva, Mylene & Curtis, Sarah & Gauvin, Lise & Fagg, James, 2009. "Unravelling the extent of inequalities in health across urban and rural areas: Evidence from a national sample in England," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 654-663, February.

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