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In his "Call to Action to Prevent Suicide", the Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher wrote, "Suicide is a serious public health problem. In 1997, the year for which the most recent statistics are available, suicide was the 8th leading cause of mortality in the United States, responsible for nearly 31,000 deaths. This number is more than 50% higher than the number of homicides in the US in the same year (around 20,000 in 1996). Yet, people learn of the latest homicides through the
media on a daily basis, while suicides are much less reported. Many fail to realize that far more Americans die from suicide than from homicide. Each year in the US approximately 500,000 people require emergency room treatment as a result of
attempted suicide. Suicidal behavior typically occurs in the presence of mental or substance abuse disorders - illnesses that impose their own direct suffering. Suicide is an enormous trauma for millions of Americans who experience the loss of
someone close to them. The nation must address suicide a significant public health problem and put into place national strategies to prevent loss of life and the suffering suicide causes."
Dr. Satcher refers to the national SPAN (Suicide Prevention Advocacy Network) Conference held in Reno, Nevada in
October 1998 where the first National Strategy to address suicide was developed. His call to action introduces a blueprint for addressing suicide - Awareness, Intervention and Methodology, or AIM - an approach derived from the collaborative efforts of the conference participants' regional meetings.
Awareness - appropriately broaden the publics' awareness of suicide and its risk factors
Intervention - enhance services and programs, both population-based and clinical care.
Methodology - advance the science of suicide intervention.
These strategies include:
Institute training for all health, mental health, substance abuse and human service professionals (including clergy, teachers, correctional workers and social workers) concerning suicide risk assessment and recognition, treatment, management and aftercare interventions.
Develop and implement effective training programs for family members of those at risk and for natural community helpers on how to recognize, respond to and refer people showing signs of suicide risk and associated mental and substance abuse
disorders.. Natural community helpers are people such as educators, coaches, hairdressers and faith leaders, among others.
Develop and implement safe and effective programs in educational settings for youth that address adolescent distress,
provide crisis intervention and incorporate peer support for seeking help.
Suicide is a preventable tragedy still surrounded by stigma, taboos and myths, which affect the public's awareness of the magnitude of the problem. Just as CPR and the Heimlich maneuver are commonplace skills, suicide intervention needs to reach these same levels.
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