To Örebro University

Background: Each year, near one million individuals worldwide commit suicide, and several more make suicide attempts. Both suicide and suicide attempts are a source of tremendous grief among friends and relatives of the victim, which generate large costs for society. This has prompted calls for more research on interventions that prevent suicide and self-harm behaviors, their costs and the society willingness to pay (WTP) for such interventions. Suicide screening followed by an intervention may identify suicidal individuals and prevent recurring self-harm, but few cost-effectiveness studies have been conducted.

Aims of the Study: We aim to derive the value of suicide prevention by using the wellbeing valuation method.

Methods: We use data collected from a representative sample of 1038 Swedish residents aged 18-80, who were randomly selected from a web-panel. They answered questions about the importance of interventions aimed prevent suicide and their WTP for these interventions. They also reported their life-satisfaction, their direct and indirect experience with mental disorders, including knowing someone who committed suicide or suicide attempt, variable needed to apply the well-being approach. In a first step, we estimate life satisfaction equations, controlling additionally to the well-known determinants such as satisfaction with health, income, and martial satisfaction, for variables related to suicide (e.g., the individual’s awareness about suicide because a close friend or relative committed suicide or had a suicide attempt and the individual’s s willingness to pay for suicide prevention). In the second step, we derive the value of suicide prevention by using the estimates of awareness about suicide and income from the life satisfaction equations.

Results: Our preliminary estimates show that knowing someone who committed suicide or suicide attempt has positive significant effect on the individual’s life satisfaction, and the preliminary derived value of suicide prevention is near the average willingness to pay for suicide prevention.

Discussion: Even though the derived value of suicide prevention is near the average willingness to pay for suicide prevention, in general, a value derived using Wellbeing Valuation should not be seen as the actual amount that people would be willing to pay.