Substance Abuse and Suicide Prevention: Evidence & Implications
1 member recommended this.
Click here to recommend.
1 member recommended this.
Click here to recommend.
Description:
One of the critical issues that require further exploration and attention is the role of substance abuse in the interplay of factors that result in a greater risk for suicidal behaviors. This document focuses on the current state of knowledge at the intersection of suicide and substance abuse. The first section focuses on the epidemiology of suicide itself and presents a brief history of the growing focus on suicide as a public health issue of significant concern. The second section provides an overview of what we know and do not know of the impact of substance abuse—including both drugs and alcohol—on suicide risk. It also acknowledges the critical interrelationships among substance abuse, mental illness and suicide risk. The final section of the document explores suicide prevention within the public health context of behavioral health promotion and illness prevention. This document marks a first step toward greater knowledge. It soon will be supplemented by a far more extensive consensus-built Treatment Improvement Protocol on substance abuse and suicide. Despite the progress, much more remains to be done if we are to respond to the public health imperative posed by continuing high rates of suicide in the nation. It is time to end continued stovepipe approaches to prevention and treatment; it is time to change the focus from an acute care model of health care. Moreover, it is time to implement a more integrated, public health-oriented approach to suicide prevention—one that takes into account the role of substance abuse disorders as well as mental illnesses and genetic, social and environmental factors, that takes in the continuum of care from prevention through long-term intervention.
Type of Resource:
Government Document
Publication #:
SMA-08-4352
Publication Date:
2008