Machine Learning Applications Related to Suicide in Military and Veterans: A Scoping Literature Review

TL;DR

This review summarizes how machine learning techniques are used to predict and assess suicide risk among military and veteran populations, highlighting current research, findings, and gaps in the field.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of existing machine learning applications in military suicide prevention and identifies key research gaps and future directions.

Findings

Machine learning models show reasonable predictive accuracy.

Risk factors include mental health issues, demographic, and physical health variables.

Research gaps include handling of false positives and longitudinal data.

Abstract

Suicide remains one of the main preventable causes of death among active service members and veterans. Early detection and prediction are crucial in suicide prevention. Machine learning techniques have yielded promising results in this area recently. This study aims to assess and summarize current research and provides a comprehensive review regarding the application of machine learning techniques in assessing and predicting suicidal ideation, attempts, and mortality among members of military and veteran populations. A keyword search using PubMed, IEEE, ACM, and Google Scholar was conducted, and the PRISMA protocol was adopted for relevant study selection. Thirty-two articles met the inclusion criteria. These studies consistently identified risk factors relevant to mental health issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation, prior attempts, physical health problems, and demographic characteristics. Machine learning models applied in this area have demonstrated reasonable predictive accuracy. However, additional research gaps still exist. First, many studies have overlooked metrics that distinguish between false positives and negatives, such as positive predictive value and negative predictive value, which are crucial in the context of suicide prevention policies. Second, more dedicated approaches to handling survival and longitudinal data should be explored. Lastly, most studies focused on machine learning methods, with limited discussion of their connection to clinical rationales. In summary, machine learning analyses have identified a wide range of risk factors associated with suicide in military populations. The diversity and complexity of these factors also demonstrates that effective prevention strategies must be comprehensive and flexible.