Six large U.S. health systems implement suicide prevention programs for diverse patient groups

What is it about?

Most people who die by suicide visit a healthcare provider in the months before their death. Recognizing this, large health systems have adopted a program that urges clinics to screen all patients for suicidal thoughts, assess suicide risk if someone shows warning signs, and provide proven interventions (like safety planning or counseling) to those at risk. The goal of this study was to see if these suicide prevention steps were followed for patients of different races and ethnicities in six large U.S. health systems. Our study found on average, only about one in four patients (27%) were asked about suicidal thoughts. Once patients were found at risk for suicide, about three in four (73%) received a proven intervention. African American patients were less likely than other patient groups to be screened for suicidal thoughts, however, after screening, White and American Indian and Alaskan Native patients were least likely to have an intervention when they were found to be at risk. Men and women were equally likely to be screened and to have an intervention when they were found to be at risk.

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Photo by Dustin Belt on Unsplash

Photo by Dustin Belt on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This is important because recent U.S. national statistics for deaths from suicide suggest that more African American women, White men, and American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) people of both sexes have been increasing over time. To date, there have been no reports on how well large health systems in the U.S. identify risk for suicide and provide resources and treatments that work for suicide prevention in patients of different races and ethnicities. We found that in the 6 health systems studied, there are still opportunities to strengthen their suicide prevention practices so that patients of every race or ethnicity are screened for suicide risk and given support when they need it.

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