Surveillance success stories – Vermont

In 2014, Vermont’s Service Members, Veterans and Their Families Workgroup initiated a request to gather information on suicides among veterans. As part of the response, members of the Vermont Suicide Prevention Data Group (Data Group) conducted an analysis of suicides, both among veterans and among Vermont residents who had received services from state-funded mental health and substance abuse agencies. The Data Group found that these data indicated that expanding the current GLS funding to include suicide prevention across the lifespan was warranted, and made a case for such expansion to key constituents.

This story is part of SPRC’s Surveillance Success Story Series, which describes how states, tribes, and health systems access and analyze data on suicide deaths and attempts, and use data to inform evaluation and program planning.