CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. The Nature and Scope of Suicide
2. Recognizing the Progressive Development of Suicide
3. Substance Abuse as a Major Contributor to Suicide
4. Suicide Across the Life Span
5. Special Populations and Suicide Risk
6. Prevention and Early Intervention for Suicide and Substance Abuse Problems

Supplements
References
Resources

Holding the Lifeline
A Guide to Suicide Prevention

Key Elements of a Planned National Strategy

A national strategy for the prevention of suicide has many interrelated elements contributing to success in reducing the toll from suicide.

• A means of engaging a broad and diverse group of partners to develop and implement the national strategy with the support of public and private social policies.
• A sustainable and functional operating structure for partners with authority, funding, responsibility, and accountability for national strategy development and implementation.
• Agreements among Federal agencies and institutions outlining and coordinating their appropriate segments of the national strategy.
• A summary of the scope of the problem and consensus on prevention priorities; for example, The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide 1999 (USPHS, 1999).
• Specified national strategy aims, goals, and measurable objectives integrated into a conceptual framework for suicide prevention.
• Appropriate and evaluable activities for practitioners, policy makers, service providers, communities, families, agencies, and other partners.
• A data collection and evaluation system to track information on suicide prevention and benchmarks for national strategy progress.

Reprinted from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Mental Health Information Center, Center for Mental Health Services. (2001). National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action. Washington, DC, p. 23.