Data shows decades of national suicide prevention policies have not reduced death rates

Over the past two decades, federal officials have launched three national suicide prevention strategies, including the one announced in April.

The first strategy, published in 2001, suicide And we resorted to some common interventions.

The next strategy called for developing and implementing standardized protocols to identify people at risk of suicide and treat them with the follow-up care and support they need to continue treatment.

The latest strategy builds on previous ones and includes a federal action plan that calls for implementing 200 measures over the next three years, including prioritizing populations disproportionately affected by suicide, such as Black youth and American Indian and Alaska Native people.

Despite these evolving strategies, suicide rates increased in most years between 2001 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Preliminary data for 2022, the most recent figures available, show that suicide deaths increased another 3% from the previous year. CDC officials predict that the final suicide toll for 2022 will be even higher.

Over the past 20 years, suicide rates in rural states such as Alaska, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming have risen Urban areasaccording to the CDC.

Despite these continuing disappointing figures, Mental Health Professionals Some argue that the national strategy isn't the problem, but rather that the policy has simply been underfunded, underadopted and underused for a variety of reasons, a slow rollout that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had widespread negative effects on mental health.

National experts and government officials agree that such strategies are not yet widely accepted, but they also say even basic tracking of suicide deaths is not universal.

Surveillance data is commonly used to drive quality improvements in health care and to help combat cancer and heart disease, but it hasn't been used to study behavioral health issues like suicide, says Michael Schoenbaum, a senior adviser to the National Institute of Mental Health. Mental Health ServicesHe studied psychology, epidemiology, and economics at the National Institute of Mental Health.

“We think about treating behavioral health issues very differently than we do physical health issues,” Schoenbaum said.

Without accurate statistics, researchers can't know who most often dies by suicide, what prevention strategies are working, or where prevention funding is most needed.

Not permitted in many states and territories Medical Records Schoenbaum said these data will be linked to death certificates, but NIMH is also working with several other organizations to compile this data for the first time into a public report and database that will be released by the end of the year.

Additionally, the strategy is hampered by the fact that some suicide prevention efforts don't work in some states or areas because of ebbs and flows of federal and local funding and geography, said Jane Pearson, special adviser for suicide research to the NIMH director.

Wyoming has consistently been ranked as one of the most populous states, with hundreds of thousands of residents spread across a vast, rugged landscape. Suicide rate.

Kim Deti, a spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Health, said state officials have been working for years to address the state's suicide problem.

But rolling out services such as mobile crisis response units, which are central to the latest national strategy, will be difficult in the vast, sparsely populated state.

“The work doesn't stop, but strategies that make sense in some parts of the country may not make sense for the unique characteristics of our state,” she said.

Lack of enforcement isn't just a state and local problem: Health care providers aren't required to screen patients for suicidal thoughts during medical examinations, despite evidence that doing so can help avert catastrophes.

Many doctors find suicide screening difficult because of limited time, inadequate training and a lack of comfort discussing the topic, said Janet Lee, an adolescent medicine specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at Temple University's Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

“I think it's really frightening and surprising when something is a matter of life and death and why no one can ask about it,” she said.

Use of other measures is also inconsistent: Although crisis intervention services are a core part of the national strategy, many states have not developed a standardized system.

Not only are crisis response systems fragmented, but systems such as mobile crisis units can vary by state and county. Some mobile crisis units use telehealth, some operate 24 hours a day and others 9 to 5, and some call on local law enforcement to respond rather than mental health workers.

Similarly, the fledgling 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline faces similar serious challenges.

A recent poll by the National Alliance on Mental Illness and Ipsos found that only 23% of Americans are aware of 988, leaving a large knowledge gap about situations when 988 should be called.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, most states, territories and tribes have not yet permanently funded 988. 988 is set to launch nationwide in July 2022 with about $1.5 billion in federal funding.

Anita Everett, director of the Center for Mental Health Services within SAMHSA, said the agency is running an awareness campaign to promote the program.

Some states, including Colorado, have taken other steps, where state officials have created financial incentives for suicide prevention efforts and other patient-safety measures through the state's Hospital Quality Incentive Program, which provides about $150 million a year to high-performing hospitals.

Last year, 66 hospitals improved care for suicidal patients, said Lena Heilman, director of suicide prevention for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Experts hope other states will follow Colorado's example.

2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.