University of Hong Kong to launch system that monitors daily suicide trends, issues warnings based on risk levels similar to weather alerts

Paul Yip, head of the university’s centre for suicide research, says system will start with data collection of daily cases when it launches in two to three months

‘The early warning system operates similar to daily weather reports and it offers amber, red and black alerts,’ he says

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A man looks out from a window at the Futian-Lok Ma Chau Pedestrian Bridge. A University of Hong Kong official said the suicide prevention system would launch in two to three months. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 7:11pm, 19 Mar 2024Updated: 3:10pm, 21 Mar 2024

The University of Hong Kong is looking to raise awareness for suicide prevention through a system that monitors trends of daily cases and issues warning alerts based on risk levels similar to weather reports.

Paul Yip Siu-fai, head of the university’s Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, said on Tuesday that the system would start with data collection of daily suicide figures after it launched in two to three months.

“The early warning system operates similar to daily weather reports and it offers amber, red and black alerts,” he told a radio interview.

A population health professor, Yip said the Social Welfare Department currently could only rely on information from up to two years ago because of a lag in data from the Coroner’s Court.

Paul Yip, head of the university’s Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, says the system is similar to daily weather reports in its risk alerts. Photo: Harvey Kong

The alarm system would take into account available data about suicide attempts on social media and the number of deaths to formulate a model to deduce when people were most likely to take their own life, he added.