Suicide is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. for people ages 10 to 39, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the number of Americans who end their lives by suicide has been rising since 2002.
With the COVID-19 pandemic contributing to isolation, job loss and and economic stress, researchers are concerned the number of annual suicides will continue to increase.
One way to address the problem is by empowering health and medical professionals to identify and aid people who may be having suicidal thoughts. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, many people who have attempted or died by suicide visit a health care provider in the weeks or months prior, offering opportunities for intervention.
Health professionals who want to help should consider using a mental health screening method known as QPR, said Jennifer Kertanis, MPH, director of health at Farmington Valley Health District in Connecticut, at a session on preventing suicide at APHA’s 2020 Annual Meeting and Expo. When using QPR, health providers question a patient’s desire or intent regarding suicide, persuade the person to seek and accept help, and refer them to appropriate resources.
Unlike mental health first-aid, which teaches how to respond to signs of mental illness and substance use, QPR is strictly focused on suicide prevention. Short online QPR trainings for health professionals are available from multiple resources, including the QPR Institute, which pioneered the method.
Project 2025 — an American Foundation for Suicide Prevention initiative working to reduce annual U.S. suicide rates by 20% by 2025 — is piloting universal screening in health care settings for suicidal ideation. A set of questions similar to those used in QPR are asked of every patient visiting an emergency department, primary care office or hospital. The questions are not limited to patients showing mental distress.
Another way of spotting at-risk people is simply to be observant and caring, said Tia Dole, PhD, chief clinical operations officer at the Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization focused on suicide prevention in the LGBTQ population. LGBTQ people have a 40% higher risk of suicide than the general population, Dole said.
During the Annual Meeting, Dole shared an analogy: Everyone is a cup, but LGBTQ people have a full cup because of the routine abuse and discrimination they suffer. One more act of cruelty can overflow the cup, pushing them toward suicide.
“What people don’t know is that them not being jerks to other people can have a major effect on another person’s life,” Dole said. “Just being kind to one LGBT youth can literally save their life.”
For more information on Project 2025, visit https://project2025.afsp.org. For more on the Trevor Project, visit www.thetrevorproject.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association