This report summarizes findings and recommendations from SPRC’s exploration of suicide surveillance among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities across the country. Each section describes challenges and provides strategies and resources to help AI/AN communities gather data on suicide to inform and evaluate their prevention efforts. The report was developed with input from national experts in tribal suicide data collection, including Garrett Lee Smith project staff and other AI/AN prevention professionals and community members. It is designed to support tribal Garrett Lee Smith grantees in their data collection efforts but could be useful to any practitioners working in suicide surveillance to learn about the challenges specific to tribal populations, as well to those already working with AI/AN communities.
Resource Types: Report
VA national suicide data report: 2005–2016
This report documents differences in suicide mortality between Veterans who have and have not used Veterans Health Administration (VHA) services and compares suicide rates among Veterans with rates among non-Veteran adults. It includes key measures pertaining to Veteran suicide such as counts, rates and means, followed by information for specific subpopulations, including age groups, women Veterans, and former Guard and Reserve members who were never federally activated.
Public health surveillance: Preparing for the future
This report highlights CDC’s progress and future directions for its Surveillance Strategy, a plan for improving timeliness and accuracy. On-time surveillance can raise awareness and guide public health policy and prevention strategies to address problems such as suicide.
National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (NSSP) implementation assessment report addendum: Federal crosswalk
This crosswalk reports on the suicide prevention activities of three federal departments: Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (including Administration for Community Living [ACL], Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], National Institutes of Health [NIH], and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration [SAMHSA]), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Activities of each department are mapped to each of the goals and objectives in the NSSP.
Healthy Campus Award: Celebrating success in student health and wellness, Key findings reports
Active Minds presents the Healthy Campus Award as part of its ongoing commitment to student wellness. The biennial award recognizes and celebrates U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate excellence in prioritizing and promoting the health and well-being of their students.
Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Strategies national outcomes evaluation: Report to Congress, fiscal year 2017
This National Outcomes Evaluation has evolved based on previous outcome evaluations and new requirements by SAMHSA such that the Garrett Lee Smith Program design includes evaluation of core data from all grantees since the initiation of the program.
The evaluation design now supports more rigorous experimental or quasi-experimental approaches, which indicate the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Program-sponsored trainings have had a positive collective impact on subsequent identification behavior of trainees, on youth suicide mortality, suicide attempts, continuity of care and service provision through providers implementing a suicide safer environment approach.
Helping children and youth who have traumatic experiences
This short report highlights the incidence of traumatic experiences among children, the impact on their mental/emotional health and how trauma treatment through trauma-informed “Systems of Care” programs has shown a significant reduction in suicidal thoughts and attempts among trauma experienced children. Data were obtained from the Children’s Mental Health Initiative’s National Evaluation which looks at outcomes data on systems of care funded programs between 2009 and 2016.
The report has been released in observance of National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day 2018: “Partnering for Health and Hope Following Trauma.”
Public policy approaches to violence prevention: Proceedings of a workshop—in brief
This 9 page document summarizes a workshop convened by The National Academies in 2016, with the aim of illuminating the ways in which violence prevention practitioners can effectively share their evidenced-based research findings with policy makers.
NVDRS special report: Deaths from suicide among U.S. Veterans and Armed Forces in 16 states
This special report focuses on suicide deaths among veterans and armed forces members using 2010 – 2014 data from 16 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). The report draws comparisons between characteristics and circumstances of veteran/armed forces and non-veteran civilian suicide deaths. The report and its companion pieces include key findings, those findings illustrated with an infographic and 16 states profiles (also available separately) with infographics.
Trends in suicide by level of urbanization, United States, 1999–2015
During 1999–2015, suicide rates increased across all levels of urbanization, with the gap in rates between rural and urban areas widening over time, especially later in this time period. These disparities may reflect risk factors known to be more prevalent in rural areas such as limited access to mental health care, social isolation and opioid overdose, which is associated with increased risk of suicide. The gap in rates rose more dramatically after 2007-2008, possibly due to the economic recession, which disproportionately affected less urban areas.