McHugh, C., Campbell, A., Chapman, M., & Balaratnasingam, S. (2016). Increasing Indigenous self-harm and suicide in the Kimberley: An audit of the 2005–2014 data. The Medical Journal of Australia, 205(1), 33.
ABSTRACT

Suicide rates among Indigenous people in the Kimberley region of Western Australia are among the highest in the world. During the period 2001–2010, age-adjusted suicide rates among Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians were respectively 21.4 and 10.3 per 100 000 population per year.

As staff of the regional state government-funded mental health service provider, Kimberley Mental Health and Drug Service (KMHDS), we undertook a retrospective audit of an internal suicide and self-harm database that revealed much higher suicide rates among Indigenous residents of the Kimberley. The database is based on referrals to the service, augmented by data on self-harm presentations provided by the police, regional hospitals and non-government agencies.