NCJ Number
244429
Date Published
September 2012
Length
184 pages
Annotation
This report is a revision and update of the original National Strategy for Suicide Prevention (National Strategy), which was released in 2001 with a national agenda for suicide prevention.
Abstract
This updated National Strategy includes 13 goals and 60 objectives that reflect advances in suicide prevention knowledge, research, and practice, as well as broader changes in society and health-care delivery that have created new opportunities for suicide prevention. The 2012 National Strategy is organized into four interconnected strategic directions: healthy and empowered individuals, families, and communities; clinical and community preventive services; treatment and support services; and surveillance, research, and evaluation. The goals and objectives for achieving "healthy and empowered individuals, families, and communities" aim to create supportive environments that will promote the general health of the population and reduce the risk for suicidal behaviors and related problems. The goals and objectives for the second strategic direction, "clinical and community preventive services," aim to build the capacity of clinical and community-based programs and services to play a key role in promoting wellness, building resilience, and preventing suicidal behaviors among various groups. Clinical preventive services, including suicide assessment and preventive screening by primary care and other health-care providers, are crucial to the assessment of suicide risk and connecting individuals at risk for suicide to available clinical services and other sources of care. The goals and objectives of the third strategic direction, "treatment and support services," promote the finding of a growing body of evidence that suicide prevention is enhanced when specific treatments for underlying conditions are combined with strategies that directly address suicide risk. The goals and objectives of the fourth strategic direction, "surveillance, research, and evaluation," promote the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and timely use of data for public health action that reduces morbidity and mortality. The goals and related objectives for each strategy are specified and explained. 267 references and appended review of goals and objectives from 2001 to 2012, a brief history of suicide prevention in the United States, and groups with increased suicide risk