Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

Men are More Suicidal.

Men are More Suicidal.

FROM “Man up, you can’t be depressed just because this happened!” TO “Why are you looking so sad and tired? Are you depressed? You can talk to me if you want..” 

To begin with, according to the World Bank dataset on development indicators, it is clear that men’s average suicide mortality rate is significantly higher than females.

Surprisingly, males are three times more suicidal than females, reaching an average of 14.3 male suicides per 100,000 males, while 4.4 female suicides per 100,000 females.

But why is this the case?

While comparing countries with high unemployment rates and countries with low unemployment rates, the following analyses were investigated:

To begin with, in Countries with highest unemployment rates, the suicide mortality rates for both men and women are higher.

However, when faced with difficult economic situations:

  • Females suicide mortality rates were higher by 150%
  • Males suicide mortality rates were higher by 217%

This leads to the conclusion that men’s mental health tends to be more susceptible to financial burdens.

So, what should be done?

A potential solution would be providing unemployment benefits, which are governmental compensations that are provided for unemployed people. These compensations help secure a stable income after the layoff of an employee, and they improve unemployed people’s productivity in the labor market by improving job matching and connecting employees to employers.

In addition, this solution can be helpful in mitigating the impact of unemployment on the psychological wellbeing of people.

As the following illustration shows, both females’ and males’ suicide mortality rates are higher in countries with lower adequacy and coverage of unemployment benefits

More specifically, males’ suicide rates are 31% lower in countries with high adequacy and coverage of unemployment benefits.

Thus, in order to mitigate the males’ suicide mortality, several recommendations are suggested to be effective.

  • First, it is highly recommended that suicide prevention groups intensify their focus on men and encourage them to express themselves and seek psychological help.
  • Equally important, in countries with high unemployment rates, governments should work on providing unemployment benefits and ensure their wide coverage of the unemployed.

 

Thank you

Education attainment, a leading cause in rise of student suicide

Education attainment, a leading cause in rise of student suicide

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a surge in student suicides.

The reasons are numerous ranging from:
1. The challenge of remote learning including its impact on grades
2. Students trying to socialize from their bedrooms instead of enjoying normal on-campus activities.

However, suicide among college students was always present even before the pandemic and it is imperative to mitigate its impact.

Schools and universities should:

-Spread suicide awareness and prevention campaign to eliminate its stigmatization.

-Launch counseling program that offers therapy for people in need.

-Consider modifying the educational system to reduce stress among students.

Suicide, The Forgotten Pandemic

Suicide, The Forgotten Pandemic

Suicide is an act that is against the human’s instinct. As living creatures, we are built to survive no matter how hard the circumstances are. But if so, then how does some people do such an act, which is completely against our human nature? Many factors can lead to someone committing such a terrible act, such as cultural, family and social situations, genetics, experiences of trauma or loss, and most importantly nihilism and the absurdity of life. In the following dashboard, we will be highlighting the countries that present the highest suicide rate, while also focusing on the “why” these countries do have such a high rate. We will also provide some solutions to this problem.

Guyana Is Dying!

Guyana Is Dying!

Dear Communities,

Save Guyana!

Since 2000 Guyana is witnessing an increase in number of suicides. This increase should grab communities attention to work hard on reducing this rate. We have to instill hope again in every home in Guyana.

Reasons of Suicide in Europe and Africa

Reasons of Suicide in Europe and Africa

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. Each year approximately one million people die from suicide. In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. This visualizations are part of a research project to identify the reasons of high suicide in Africa and Europe followed recommendations. This two map visualizations represent the names of the highest countries with suicide rate on the maps. The reasons of high suicide in Africa is high spread of lethal deceases like AIDS/HIV (and lack of proper health systems. Represented in one of the graphs, the HIV/AIDS rates of Africa Countries are in the graph were the blue bars of the graph represent countries with highest suicide. In another graph, data showed that post Soviet Union countries have higher suicide rate than other European countries. Also, the European countries where there is high substance use , the suicide rates rises. It is shown in the graph that countries which are in blue, the ones with highest suicide and very high in substance use.