Episode 1 - Crisis Lines at Hotspots May Harm more than they Help

As always, please consider subscribing to this podcast, and supporting ime suicidology.substack.com, so I can continue to create content for suicidology education. **References for this show:** Bagley, C. (1968). The evaluation of a suicide prevention scheme by an ecological method. *Social Science & Medicine, 2*(1), 1–14. Garnett, M. F., et al. (2025). *Changes in suicide rates in the United States from 2022 to 2023* (NCHS Data Brief No. 541). National Center for Health Statistics. Gould, M. S., et al. (2007). An evaluation of crisis hotline outcomes. Part 2: Suicidal callers. *Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 37*(3), 338–352. Hoffberg, A. S., et al. (2020). The effectiveness of crisis line services: A systematic review. *Frontiers in Public Health, 7*, Article 399. Jennings, C., et al. (1978). Have the Samaritans lowered the suicide rate? A controlled study. *Psychological Medicine, 8*(3), 413–422. Miller, H. L., et al. (1984). An analysis of the effects of suicide prevention facilities on suicide rates in the United States. *American Journal of Public Health, 74*(4), 340–343. Pirkis, J., et al. (2015). Interventions to reduce suicides at suicide hotspots: A systematic review and meta-analysis. *The Lancet Psychiatry, 2*(11), 994–1001. Public Health Agency of Canada. (n.d.). *Suicide and self-harm: Suicide mortality*. Health Infobase. Retrieved September 21, 2026. Shin, S., et al. (2026). Effectiveness of fixed landline crisis phone boxes in preventing suicides: Evidence from Australia and the United States. *Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 35*, e59. Stack, S. (2015). Crisis phones – suicide prevention versus suggestion/contagion effects: Skyway Bridge, 1954–2012. *Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 36*(3), 220–224. Too, L. S., et al. (2025). Impact of interventions at frequently used suicide locations on occurrence of suicides at other sites: A systematic review and meta-analysis. *Psychological Medicine, 55*, e168. Zarkowski, P. (2008). The Aurora Bridge. *American Journal of Psychiatry, 165*(9), 1126. Get full access to Suicidology Data and Evidence at suicidology.substack.com/subscribe