First Installment of National Strategy for Suicide Prevention Unveiled;
Sets Goals and Objectives for Public, Private Sectors

Surgeon General David Satcher today joined a coalition of public and private groups to unveil a national blueprint of goals and objectives to prevent suicide, the eighth leading cause of death in the United States.

The goals and objectives are part of an ongoing effort to develop a National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. The document released today establishes 11 goals and 68 measurable objectives for public and private sector involvement to prevent suicides and attempts, as well as reduce the harmful after-effects they have on families and communities. Suicide takes the lives of more than 30,000 Americans a year-which amounts to more than three suicides for every two homicides committed-while more than 650,000 Americans attempt suicide annually.

"Suicide has stolen lives and contributed to the disability and suffering of hundreds of thousands of Americans each year," Satcher said. "There are few who escape being touched by the tragedy of suicide in their lifetimes."

"Only recently have the knowledge and tools become available to approach suicide as a preventable problem with realistic opportunities to save many lives," the Surgeon General said. "The public health approach laid out in this National Strategy represents a rational and organized way to marshal prevention efforts and ensure that they are effective. It is especially fitting that we release these goals and objectives in May, which is Mental Health Month, and shortly before the observance of May 6-12 as National Suicide Prevention Week."

The goals and objectives lay out a framework for action and guide development of an array of services and programs yet to be set in motion. It strives to provide direction to efforts to modify the social infrastructure in ways that will affect the most basic attitudes about suicide and that will also change judicial, educational, social service and health care systems. According to Dr. Satcher, "The strategy identifies important roles for each member of the community, regardless of background or position." He emphasized that "suicide prevention is everyone's business."

The 68 specific objectives contained in the report include:

• Implementing integrated community-based suicide prevention programs that build life skills, beliefs and values, and connections to family and community support known to reduce the risk of suicide;
• Incorporating suicide-risk screening at the primary health care level;
• Increasing the number of states that require health insurance plans to cover mental health and substance abuse care on a par with coverage for physical health care;
• Providing treatment for more suicidal persons with mental health problems;
• Developing technical support centers to increase the capacity of states to implement and evaluate prevention programs;
• Increasing availability of comprehensive support programs for survivors of suicide;
• Increasing the number of professional and volunteer groups as well as faith-based communities that integrate suicide prevention into their ongoing activities;
• Improving suicide prevention education and training for health care professionals, counselors, clergy, teachers and other key "community gatekeepers;"
• Increasing the number of television programs and movies that accurately and safely depict suicide and mental illness; and
• Implementing a national violent death reporting system that includes suicide.

Future installments of the National Strategy will be released as work is completed. A publication recommending safe approaches for media coverage of suicide related events is expected to be completed later this year. Currently, about half of the states have begun efforts to enact their own suicide prevention strategies.

Collaborators who developed the goals and objectives included the Suicide Prevention and Advocacy Network (SPAN), the Association For Suicide Prevention, the American Association of Suicidology, and hundreds of individuals working at state, tribal and local levels to prevent suicide. The United States Air Force contributed significantly to the effort, both by providing a model for comprehensive community-based suicide prevention programs and its direct support of the strategy development process.

The goals and objectives released today can be found on the Internet at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov.