Previously submitted to: JMIR Research Protocols (no longer under consideration since Dec 18, 2024)
Date Submitted: Jan 18, 2024
Open Peer Review Period: Jan 19, 2024 - Mar 15, 2024
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Suicide Causality in Observational Research: A Scoping Review Protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Suicide is a significant public health issue, and understanding the causal factors associated with suicide is essential for developing effective intervention strategies. Despite the importance of establishing causal relationships, it remains unclear how much suicide prevention literature focuses on causal research and utilizes appropriate methods for causal inference.
Objective:
Present a protocol for a scoping review that aims to identify and characterize the use of modern causal inference methods in observational suicide prevention research by describing their relative frequency of application across suicide outcomes, exposures, interventions, populations, and other study characteristics. Our plan includes evaluating how closely investigators' methods align with any causal interpretations, and whether the degree of alignment varies by discipline. The findings will elucidate these methodological trends and their implications, helping to shape future suicide prevention research strategies.
Methods:
The protocol design is based on the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) framework for scoping reviews, and final reporting will adhere to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We will search the PubMed, Embase, ProQuest, and Web of Science databases for peer-reviewed literature and academic dissertations. Eligible studies must include adult populations (18 and older), suicide attempts or deaths, and use modern causal inference methods in observational research designs. Following a rigorous search strategy, two independent reviewers will be involved in the study selection, data extraction, and evidence analysis using ASReview software for title and abstract screening and Covidence for full-text screening and data extraction.
Results:
The scoping review is currently underway, with the search strategy developed and preliminary search results obtained. Data collection, extraction, and analysis are expected to be completed in the upcoming months, with results anticipated to be published in 2024. The results will be presented using a PRISMA-ScR flow diagram, narrative summaries, and various visualizations, such as heatmaps and ridge plots, to provide a comprehensive overview of the extracted data.
Conclusions:
This scoping review will provide an overview of the application of modern causal inference methods in observational suicide research, highlighting gaps and trends in their use across different study contexts (e.g., disciplines, study designs, outcomes). Uncovering these gaps and barriers may encourage uptake of modern causal inference methods where underutilized and highlight the necessity of allowing authors to provide causal interpretations when these methods are appropriately used. Thus, this review seeks to foster research priorities, policy changes, and overall research practices that can optimize the impact of suicide intervention research. Clinical Trial: Not applicable.
Citation
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