Nine in 10 First Nations people accessed care before suicide

There’s new data out on First Nations people who died by suicide.

Less than a third accessed mental health care in the month before their death.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released new data on First Nations people’s interactions with the healthcare system before dying by suicide.

Its analysis of 11 years of statistics showed nine in 10 First Nations Australians who eventually died by suicide accessed healthcare in the last year of their lives.

Many accessed mental health services in the month before their death.

Here’s what you need to know.

Background

The rate of deaths by suicide is three times higher for First Nations people than non-Indigenous people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In 2024, suicide was the fifth leading cause of death for First Nations people.

This week, the AIHW released a report into how First Nations people who died by suicide from 2010 to 2021 engaged with healthcare services in the 12 months before their deaths.

It did not have data from Western Australia or the Northern Territory, both of which have significant Indigenous populations.

Findings

Of the 1,273 First Nations people whose deaths were recorded as suicide from 2010 to 2021, 1,145 were known to have used a health service before their death:

More than half of First Nations people who died by suicide accessed mental health services in the year before their death.

Younger people were less likely to use health services than older age groups.

Of those who did not use any services in the last year of their life, 71% were under 35.

Around a third of First Nations people who died by suicide used a mental health service in the month before they died.

Many of these people presented to emergency departments or were admitted to hospital that month.

Access gaps

The AIHW noted that as of 2023, the number of psychiatrists per 100,000 people ranged from 19 in the major cities, to six in outer regional and remote areas, to two in very remote areas.

Around a third of First Nations people live in outer regional, remote, and very remote areas.

The AIHW raised concerns about cultural barriers and a lack of culturally appropriate care, using the example of fly-in, fly-out mental health services, which “communities are often not receptive to... as they visit for short periods, lack local knowledge and do not build relationships with the community.”

Looking ahead

The AIHW pointed to areas where more research could support intervention, including location and age-based studies.

It noted the complexities of suicide interventions, highlighting alcohol as a “known catalyst for suicidal acts,” requiring “interventions that go beyond hospitals and the health system.”

The institute also said “access to culturally safe and relevant health services” is “crucial” to adequately treat “First Nations people at risk of suicide.”

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