Associations between the Department of Veterans Affairs' Suicide Prevention Campaign and Calls to Related Crisis Lines

Abstract Background Suicide among veterans is a problem nationally, and suicide prevention remains a high priority for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Focusing suicide prevention initiatives in the emergency department setting provides reach to veterans who may not be seen in mental health and targets a critical risk period, transitions in care following discharge. Caring Contacts is a simple and efficacious suicide prevention approach that could be used to target this risk period. The purpose of this study is to (1) adapt Caring Contacts for use in a VA emergency department, (2) conduct a pilot program at a single VA emergency department, and (3) create an implementation toolkit to facilitate spread of Caring Contacts to other VA facilities. Methods This project includes planning activities and a pilot at a VA emergency department. Planning activities will include determining available data sources, determining logistics for identifying and sending Caring Contacts, and creating an implementation toolkit. We will conduct qualitative interviews with emergency department staff and other key stakeholders to gather data on what is needed to adapt and implement Caring Contacts in a VA emergency department setting and possible barriers to and facilitators of implementation. An advisory board of key stakeholders in the facility will be created. Qualitative findings from interviews will be presented to the advisory board for discussion, and the board will use these data to inform decision making regarding implementation of the pilot. Once the pilot is underway, the advisory board will convene again to discuss ongoing progress and determine if any changes are needed to the implementation of the Caring Contacts intervention. Discussion Findings from the current project will inform future scale-up and spread of this innovation to other VA medical center emergency departments across the network and other networks. The current pilot will adapt Caring Contacts, create an implementation toolkit and implementation guide, evaluate the feasibility of gathering outcome measures, and provide information about what is needed to implement this evidence-based suicide prevention intervention in a VA emergency department.

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Examining the Process of Suicide Prevention Outreach Efforts at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives, 111th Cong. 2 (2010)

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e580682011-001 ◽

2010 ◽

Keyword(s):

Suicide Prevention ◽

House Of Representatives ◽

Veterans Affairs ◽

Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽

The U.S

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Suicide Prevention in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: Using the Evidence Without Losing the Narrative

Psychiatric Services ◽

10.1176/appi.ps.201900482 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (4) ◽

pp. 398-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mark B. Warren ◽

Leigh A. Smithkors

Keyword(s):

Suicide Prevention ◽

Veterans Affairs ◽

Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽

The U.S

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Current Trends in Veteran Suicides – from 2001 to 2019

10.31234/osf.io/wgzay ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Avinash Sharma

Keyword(s):

Suicide Prevention ◽

Adult Population ◽

State Level ◽

Veterans Affairs ◽

Age Group ◽

Department Of Veterans Affairs ◽

Current Trends ◽

Geographical Regions ◽

The Us ◽

Reporting Data

In 2019, Veterans made up 8% of the total US adult population (19.8 million vs 255 million). However, the percentage of Veteran suicide was 14% of US adult suicides (6,261 vs 45,861). The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) annually releases data on Veterans' suicide, categorized by gender, age group, geographical region, and states. The 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual, released in September 2021, provides a concrete summary of the issues related to Veteran suicide and the VA's approach to solving them. This article builds on that report and provides additional perspectives on these suicide numbers, using features such as age group and geographical regions. This work aims to get a better understanding and insights into the Veterans' suicide data. All analysis was conducted using the data published by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. Two datasets were used: 1) National Veteran Suicide Data and Reporting - Data Appendix (2019), and 2) State-Level Veteran Suicide Data: 2019 Update - State Data Appendix.

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