Suicide data map

To explore the data in the map you can:

• Select indicators using the drop-down function- Explore data using the tiered drop-down function by selecting a category, a grouping and then the indicator that relates to your area of interest.
• See selected indicators for your area in one view – Explore data for your area (local authority or SUB-Integrated Care Board) under the dashboard tab. Select your chosen area and see selected indicators with a comparison to the national average.
• See how data changes over time - When exploring data in the data map tab, see how data changes over time using the time series element in the data chart. 
• Filter by data - Explore data from different time periods using the 'filter by date' drop-down under the data chart. 
• Zoom in and out - See areas in more detail or compare across areas. You can also download charts and maps using the 
• See the data - To see the data sitting behind a particular map, you can click on 'show data table'.
• Download specific data - If you want to use a chart or map in your own local reports, use the 'Download Options' button; you can select your organisation of interest and this will be highlighted on the downloaded data.
• Download all the data - If you want to understand more about the data and where it comes from, download the metadata file.
• Share with others - If you want to share the link to a particular chart or map with someone, use the 'copy link' button.

The Suicide Data Map builds upon previous work undertaken by the ZSA in early 2020, involving the release of the Social Risk Factor Map, developed in partnership with the Mental Health Foundation.

The indicators included in the Suicide Data Map were established through consultation with clinical expertise, with the data itself drawn from a number of sources, including the Office for National Statistics (ONS), health and local authority datasets, bespoke sector specific benchmarking, national audits and surveys. 

Over 100 indicators were identified to be suitable based on the following criteria:

• Relevant - factors known to be related to an increased risk of suicide or suicidal ideation, and services that were in place to work with people experiencing such factors
• Recent - data relating to the indicator was no more than five years old
• Available - the data must be comprehensive and available at a level relevant to local communities
• Actionable - the data must be able to be influenced by local action.

Please note that the ZSA and the NHS Benchmarking Network consulted NHS Trusts prior to publishing their data. NHS Benchmarking data is only displayed for those Trusts whereby permission was granted.

This section is for those that want to know more about how our map was developed, including where the data came from and how we have represented it in the map.

Data sources

Data presented in the map is gathered from multiple sources, including:

• NHS Benchmarking Network
• Office for Health Improvement Disparities 
• NHS Digital
• Royal College of Psychiatrists
• Office for National Statistics
• Department for Education Local Authority
• NHS England
• National Statistics about Drug and Alcohol Misuse Treatment
• The 5th Survey of Liaison Psychiatry in England
• Care Quality Commission 

Depending on the data source you can view the data across England by:

• Local authority
• Mental health trust
• Clinical Commissioning Group
• Integrated Care System

Colour codes

We have applied a simple colour code to each indicator in the map. These highlight urgency of the action needed relating to either risk or performance. For some indicators, a judgement may not have been applied, and instead simply colour graded.

Risk related:

• Red – immediate action needed
• Amber – urgent action needed
• Yellow – action needed

Performance related:

• Dark green – high performance
• Green
• Yellow
• Amber
• Red – low performance

Colour grading:

• Light purple to dark purple

This colour grading is used for predominantly service-related factors as a judgement of risk or performance cannot be applied; measures cannot be used as not a litmus test for how effective the system.

Applying colour codes to the data

This process is outlined below:

1. Ranked the data in order (e.g. from lowest to highest)
2. Split the data into five equal sections called ‘quintiles’
3. Colour coded the quintiles depending on the type of indicator (e.g. green is the top 20%, red is bottom 20% for performance related indicators)
4. For risk-related data with only three colours, the middle three quintiles are combined to represent the middle 60% of the data. This 60% is colour coded as amber.
5. Applied a line on the corresponding bar chart to mark the average (middle) value of the data. Other datasets may report the mean average, and with therefore their average value will differ slightly from the one reported in our map. The advantage of using this middle value as the average compared to a calculated mean value is that it is a truer representation of the actual reported data.

It is important to remember that the colour coding applied is relative to data in the same set, and that regions may have the same value but fall in different colour coded quintiles.