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New
Reports Available.
The following two reports are now available
on the Arizona Department of Health Servises (ADHS) web
site:
Additional reports on drowning
deaths, assault (homicide), drug-related deaths, firearm-related
deaths, etc. are in preparation.
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Suicide
is a Major Problem in Arizona.
In 2002, suicide claimed
784 persons in the state - AN AVERAGE OF TWO LIVES A DAY
- more than homicide and AIDS combined. In fact, in 2001,
Arizona ranked 10th in the nation in number of suicides,
up from 13th place in 2000.
We believe
the high death toll in Arizona by suicide is unacceptable.
Arizona Suicide Prevention Alert is dedicated to increasing
awareness of suicide as a health care crisis in Arizona,
advocating solutions, and organizing supporters of suicide
prevention efforts. We also hope to serve as a resource
for Arizona suicide prevention advocates.
Every year,
more than 30,000 Americans take their own lives. Suicide
is the eleventh-leading cause of death in the United States,
and the third among our youth, ages 15 to 24.
Arizona Suicide
Prevention Alert is dedicated to increasing awareness of
suicide as a health care crisis in Arizona, advocating solutions,
and organizing supporters of suicide prevention efforts.
We also hope to serve as a resource for Arizona suicide
prevention advocates.
Consider these Arizona
suicide facts*:
- 741 persons
committed suicide in Arizona in 2001. Of these, 58 were
children or teenagers, 55 were college age, and 143 were
over the age of 65.
- Suicide
by firearm is unusually high in Arizona. Of the 741 suicides,
468 (or 63%) were by firearms.
The national average is 57%.
- Suicides
greatly outnumber homicides and deaths from HIV in Arizona.
In 2001, there were 484 murders and 17 HIV-related deaths
in the state compared to 741 suicides, yet homicide and
AIDS command a much greater share of public attention
and resources.
*Statistics
are from the Arizona Heath Status and Vital Statistics Report
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What
Can Be Done?
Suicide as
a national health issue received little attention until
1999, when the Surgeon General issued a call to action.
This report proposed that the nation and states adopt a
prevention strategy encompassing three central components:
AWARNESS, INTERVENTION, and METHODOLOGY. A subsequent report
issued in May 2001 The National Strategy for Suicide
Prevention, lists specific goals and objectives for
achieving a reduction in suicide deaths. States were encouraged
to adopt and adapt this National Strategy for implementation
at the state and community levels. Arizona was among the
states, however, funds to implement many of the plan's recommendations
have not been available.
The information on this site
provides a number of links to other resources and is intended
to help users learn about suicide and suicide prevention.
It is provided for informational and referral purposes only.
For more information
about what national experts say can be done to reduce suicide
deaths, see the The
Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent Suicide, July
1999
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Taking
Action in Arizona!
Take Action!
Contact your local state senator and state representative
and ask them to increase funding for suicide prevention.
Arizona has a detailed plan for doing just that, but lacks
adequate resources for implementation.
Take Action
Contact your local state senator and state representative
and ask them to increase funding for suicide prevention.
Arizona has a detailed plan for doing just that, but lacks
adequate resources for implementation. See the Arizona Suicide
Prevention Program Annual Report, 2001.
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The
Surgeon General's Call to Action
The
Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent Suicide
is the product of an effort that brought the best science
together with the best experience on the subject of suicide
prevention. A conference in 1999 with researchers, clinicians,
survivors and advocates laid the foundation for a national
suicide prevention strategy. Since then, we have been working
hard to achieve this goal. There were more than 80 recommendations
put forward at that conference.
In the course
of reviewing those recommendations, it was quickly realized
that they could be refined or reduced to 15 essential major
recommendations which, if implemented promptly, would greatly
help to reduce the number of suicides as well as suicidal
behavior. Given that the country is facing an average of
nearly 85 suicides and about 2,000 attempts per day, it
was felt that it was important that we get these recommendations
to the public as soon as possible, while continuing to work
on a more comprehensive national strategy.
The 15 recommendations
revolve around three principles‹Awareness, Intervention,
and Methodology.
Awareness
We must promote
public awareness that suicides are preventable. We must
enhance resources in communities for suicide prevention
programs and mental and substance abuse disorder assessment
and treatment. And we must reduce the stigma associated
with mental illness that keeps many people from seeking
the help that could save their lives. The problem of depression,
for example is common in this country and throughout the
world. Donąt be afraid or ashamed to seek help so that you
can continue to be a productive person, or to refer a friend
or loved one you believe to be at risk.
Intervention
We must complete
our work with public and private partners on a National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention. We must eliminate barriers
in public and private insurance programs for provision of
quality mental and substance abuse disorder treatments.
We must institute training about suicide risk assessment,
treatment, management and aftercare for all health, mental
health, substance abuse and human service professionals‹including
clergy, teachers, correctional workers, and social workers.
We need to
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 who show
signs of suicide risk. Far too many health professionals
are failing to ask about depression or to encourage patients
to talk about it. In fact, about 70 percent of elderly suicide
victims have seen a health care professional within the
month preceding their suicide.
Methodology
We need to
enhance research to understand risk and protective factors
related to suicide, their interaction, and their effects
on suicide and suicidal behaviors. And we need to increase
research on effective suicide prevention programs, clinical
treatments for suicidal individuals and culture-specific
interventions.
It is my hope
that communities, policymakers, civic organizations and
individuals will take these recommendations to heart and
work to implement them. We must remember that prevention
begins at home, and the work of suicide prevention must
be done at the community level. At the same time, in the
press kits which accompany the Call to Action, you will
find fact sheets that not only outline the problem of suicide
in the U.S., but lay out what the Federal government is
doing and will continue to do in the area of suicide prevention.
Senator Reidąs work to secure an appropriations hearing
in the Senate will allow us to continue and intensify our
efforts.
The Call to
Action we are issuing today is only a beginning. Let us
together leave here today committed to preventing suicide
in our nation.
The information on this site
provides a number of links to other resources and is intended
to help users learn about suicide and suicide prevention.
It is provided for informational and referral purposes only.
Message
from the Secretary of Health and Human Services
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American
Indian Suicide
The American Indian Suicide Rate in
Arizona almost 300% higher than other groups
Suicide is an
even greater problem for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The suicide rate for this group of U.S. citizens is about
1.7 times the rate for all races in the U.S. The suicide
rate for males 15 to 34 years of age is more than twice
the national rate. Factors such as poverty and substance
abuse contribute to this crisis.
For example, the
poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives in
2001 was 24.5 percent, as compared to 7.8 percent for non-Hispanic
Whites. The 2002 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse
found that among youths aged 12 or older, the AI/AN population
had the highest rate of substance abuse or dependence of
any major racial and ethnic group (14.1 percent). Studies
have shown that 70 percent of all suicidal acts (completions
and attempts) in AI/AN country involved alcohol.
There is a critical
need for a Suicide Prevention Center to develop programs
which can focus on education, screening, and improved treatment
for this at-risk group.
Indian
Health Service Special Report on Suicide
For the past 15
years, suicide has been the second leading cause of death
for 15 to 24- year- old American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The suicide rate for this age group is 31.7 per 100,000,
as compared to a rate of 13.0 per 100,000 for persons in
this age group for all races in the U.S. population. In
addition, completed suicide for AI/AN occurs at a higher
rate than in the general population (Middlebrook, LeMaster,
Beals, Novins & Manson, 1998). However, suicide rates are
not uniform across all AI/AN. Two communities that have
experienced a significantly high rate of suicide are the
Zuni Pueblo reservation in Arizona and the Standing Rock
Indian reservation in the Dakotas.
Suicide is often
the result of the failure to treat such problems as depression,
alcoholism, and domestic violence, all of which are pervasive
in the AI/AN population. A suicide attempt requiring hospitalization
commonly costs $5,000 or more. These costs can escalate
to exceed $100,000 in some AI/AN communities because of
geographic isolation and high transportation costs. Such
costs could be dramatically reduced with effective prevention
programs.
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