This is important research from a public health and policy perspective, helping to focus on suicide prevention at sites where a high number of suicides have occurred. 

In communication about this research, however, it is important to exercise extreme caution in the use of images and specific details being given. As the researchers mention, media reporting can promote specific sites and increase the risk of people attempting and dying by suicide there. 

It is recommended that all journalists covering this story avoid giving details of specific sites (in either words or images), as well as specific deaths that occurred at these locations, and instead to discuss in very general terms only.

Support is available from the Mindframe guidelines, or directly from the Mindframe team at mindframe@health.nsw.gov.au

A strength of the study is highlighting the need for support to prevent suicide. However, several major limitations impact the research's usefulness. Most importantly, it attempts to create risk profiles, which have long been shown to be ineffective at predicting who will die by suicide.

Additionally, it uses data from 7-24 years ago, which may not reflect Australians living with current overwhelming stressors, such as the pandemic, the ongoing cost of living crisis, and increasing difficulties accessing support for acute distress in the community and hospitals.

Moreover, the study is limited to deaths by suicide in public places, leaving significant gaps for those who die in private spaces. The causes of deaths by suicide have long been established—overwhelming distress due to biological, psychological, and social stressors.

Australians facing homelessness, financial stress, social isolation, or unhealthy social environments, and those who've experienced interpersonal trauma, need a range of social and psychological supports. Rather than targeting risk areas, meeting the basic needs of  all Australians would more effectively reduce the proportion experiencing distress and overwhelming distress.

Clusters of suicides, especially among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and young people, typically reflect severe failures in government policies to understand and protect basic human needs.

These include physical (eg decent and secure place to live), social (eg feeling valued as a human being and safe from violence), cultural (eg a respected voice expressing collective values and aspirations), mental (eg access to quality education needed to contribute successfully in the world) and spiritual (eg connection and love for Country and for someone to care about the future of your generation).

While we see particular places where these needs are seriously under-met today - if we don't show real action on equity, duty of care and climate change - this phenomena may spread widely as these basic needs become more broadly inaccessible.

We can learn so much about life promotion from healing, empowerment and wellbeing research in the last decade with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia. This can help us understand the stresses our young people are feeling today from a severe lack of serious policies to protect their future.

These challenges are about enabling meaning and purpose in life and require far more than increased mental health services