Impact of Healthcare Accessibility on Suicide Rates in the European Union: A Cross-Sectional Correlation Study

Impact of Healthcare Accessibility on Suicide Rates in the European Union: A Cross-Sectional Correlation Study | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Impact of Healthcare Accessibility on Suicide Rates in the European Union: A Cross-Sectional Correlation Study Martin Máčel, Jakub Opelka, Hana Němcová, Alexa Labajová This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3251710/v2 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Abstract Introduction . This study aimed to explore the relationship between the accessibility of healthcare, its financing by the state and the suicide rate in the states of the European Union. We strive to identify which part of the healthcare system, or the interplay between them, is critical to suicide prevention. Methods . We used freely available data from Eurostat and identified factors that best indicate the availability and funding of health care. We used hierarchical linear regression to predict suicide rates in the EU. We included data from 2011 to 2019, the latest fully published. Results . Our model demonstrated exceptional explanatory power, accounting for 24.8 % of the suicide rate variance within EU states. A significant protective effect was found between the number of psychiatrists (β = -.36), the percentage of inhabitants self-reporting fully met medical examination needs (β = -.15) and the suicide rate. Contrary to our expectation, the number of GPs (β = .37) and beds in psychiatry hospitals (β = .43) had a positive effect on the suicide rate. Conclusions . While our study is exploratory it might serve as a basis for policies aiming to lower suicide rates in European countries by enhancing access to and funding of healthcare. suicide healthcare accessibility European Union healthcare funding suicide prevention Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Supplementary Files Supplementarymaterialssuicideintheeuropeanunion1.1.pdf Appendix Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 2 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Show more versions Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3251710","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":232415805,"identity":"da29c19e-eae1-4dab-95f5-aa1b98a414d8","order_by":0,"name":"Martin 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We strive to identify which part of the healthcare system, or the interplay between them, is critical to suicide prevention.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe used freely available data from Eurostat and identified factors that best indicate the availability and funding of health care. We used hierarchical linear regression to predict suicide rates in the EU. We included data from 2011 to 2019, the latest fully published.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur model demonstrated exceptional explanatory power, accounting for 24.8 % of the suicide rate variance within EU states. A significant protective effect was found between the number of psychiatrists (β = -.36), the percentage of inhabitants self-reporting fully met medical examination needs (β = -.15) and the suicide rate. 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