Identifying Best Practices for Suicide Prevention
Over the last decade, suicide rates in the United States have been creepily skyward. In some states, the suicide rate is nearly twice the national average.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, according to statistics from the CDC, and in certain populations it is even more pervasive. From 2005 to 2014, the national suicide rate increased from 10.90 per 100,000 people to 12.93 per 100,000, and states like Montana and Alaska have rates of 23.8 and 21.97 respectively.
Among adolescents and young adults, suicide is a shockingly prevalent cause of death. In 2014, suicide was featured as the second leading cause of death in three different age groups (10-14, 15-24, and 25-34). For those ages 35-44 and 45-54, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death.
Hospitals and health systems have always played an important role in suicide prevention, but with rising rates and more urgency for regulatory agencies, they may be facing increasing pressure to make an even bigger impact.
The Joint Commission is acutely aware of the suicide risks hospital encounter. In February, The Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert aimed at detecting and treating suicidal ideation. It was the accreditation agency’s third alert devoted to suicide risk, adding to previous reports released in 1998 and 2010.
Statistically, sentinel event reports linked to suicide have fluctuated over the past decade. Overall, however, sentinel events involving suicide have increased from 53 in 2005 to 95 in 2015. Those statistics peaked in 2011 when hospitals reported 131 events related to suicide.
The most recent Sentinel Event Alert outlines several recommended actions hospitals should take to detect and treat suicidal ideation, including reviewing each patient’s medical history and screening patients using evidence-based tools; it also delineates specific actions healthcare facilities should take to keep high-risk patients in a safe environment.
This is an excerpt from the May issue of the Patient Safety Monitor. Subscribers can read the rest of the article here. Non-subscribers can find out more about the journal, its benefits, and how to subscribe by clicking here.