Surveillance success stories – Montana

The passage of the Montana Suicide Mortality Review Team Act in 2013 marked the beginning of a coordinated effort to use surveillance data to reduce the state’s suicide rate. The Suicide Mortality Review Team accesses and analyzes data from death certificates, coroner and medical examiner reports, and health and behavioral health care records for every suicide death in the state, which it uses to identify trends and make prevention recommendations to the legislature.

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.