Did you know suicide is the second leading
cause of death for youth and young adults 10–34?
If you care for young
women, you have an opportunity to identify and assess suicide risk by integrating suicide screening into your
practice. This is key as women are more likely than men to attempt suicide. If you are a campus health professional, the
following resources can help you integrate suicide screening and prevention
into your practice.
For
Your Practice
The free Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkitby the National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) will help you identify patients 10–24 who are
at risk for suicide. The toolkit is available in multiple languages and
tailored for several medical settings.
If you are developing or expanding a suicide prevention
program, this online course
from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center offers strategic planning
recommendations to help you identify key risk factors, set long-term goals for
the program, and implement the interventions and evaluation.
On Campus
Preventing
Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools assists high schools and school districts in designing and implementing
multifaceted suicide prevention programs that respond to the needs and cultures
of students.
After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schoolswas
developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Suicide
Prevention Resource Center, and the Education Development Center. The
toolkit helps school administrators and crisis teams plan for and
implement appropriate postvention strategies to facilitate communications,
support grieving students and staff, identify at-risk individuals, and
more.
For Your
Patients
Depression often goes unrecogonized and untreated and may
lead to suicide. Encourage your adolescent and young adult patients to review
resources on suicide prevention and awareness, such as:
