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Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Rail suicide: A systematic review using systems thinking
Safety Science, Vol.187, pp.1-13
2025
Appears in Thompson Institute Research Collection
Abstract
Rail suicide is a complex problem with significant adverse social and economic impacts. Systems thinking approaches are commonly used to understand emergent outcomes in complex systems. Systems thinking takes the system as the unit of analysis; often using a hierarchical representation to show how decisions and actions made across levels of a system (e.g., by governments, regulators, industry associations, companies, and individuals) can interact to create adverse outcomes. However, the extent to which rail suicide research has explored the problem from a systems thinking approach is unclear. A systematic review was conducted to identify: (1) the theories and methods that have been used to investigate rail suicide in the peer reviewed literature; (2) the contributory and demographic/risk factors for rail suicide identified across system levels; and (3) the preventative measures to address rail suicide that have been evaluated in published studies. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines and the systems thinking techniques AcciMap and PreventiMap were used to map factors and interventions across system levels. Gaps identified included a lack of consideration of contributory factors at higher system levels, that few preventative measures have been subject to evaluation, and that there has been little consideration of relationships between preventative measures. The review highlights the need for structured systems approaches to gain a more holistic understanding of rail suicide and to design more effective preventative measures.
Details
- Title
- Rail suicide: A systematic review using systems thinking
- Authors
- G.J.M. Read (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems ScienceI. Elstak - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems ScienceA. Naweed - Central Queensland UniversityJ.A. Cox - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems ScienceL.S. Too - The University of MelbourneD.F. Hermens - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Thompson InstituteR. McClure - Western Sydney UniversityP.M. Salmon - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science
- Publication details
- Safety Science, Vol.187, pp.1-13
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ssci.2025.106856
- ISSN
- 1879-1042; 0925-7535
- Copyright note
- © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- Centre for Human Factors and Systems Science; Thompson Institute; School of Health - Psychology
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991119352302621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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