Kelsey Murray: Health officials committed to reversing tide of suicide

Suicide is a serious public health problem. As such, it requires a comprehensive public health approach.

In 2022, a staggering 49,476 people in the United States, including 883 people in Oregon, died by suicide. And deaths by suicide inflict lasting damage on individuals, families and communities.

What’s more, that reflects only a portion of the problem. Every year, millions of Americans seriously think about, plan or attempt suicide, adding to the concern.

The good news is that deaths by suicide are largely preventable through temporary means reduction, responsible media reporting, effective public education and timely identification and intervention. Educating primary care physicians and other gatekeepers, and screening for key indicators, also play a role.

Yamhill County is actively deploying these tools in an effort to prevent suicide, but community involvement is crucial to success.

Firearms are used in 56% of deaths by suicide. Sadly, attempts with a firearm are fatal 90% of the time, adding to the risk.

That doesn’t mean firearm users or owners are more likely to experience suicidal ideation or attempt suicide. It simply underscores the lethality of the most common method used in suicide deaths.

In response, Yamhill County’s Department of Health & Human Services has provided 147 handgun lockboxes, 81 long gun lockboxes and 50 cable locks to Yamhill County residents during the past year, at no cost to the recipients.

Studies show the length of time between someone in crisis deciding to mount a suicide attempt and following through on it is typically very brief. In fact, 24% of survivors pegged it at less than 5 minutes and another 24% at just 5 to 19 minutes.

These statistics reinforce the importance of measures served to increase the time and distance between someone in a crisis and lethal means. And one of the most popular and cost-effective is securing household firearms with cable locks, lockboxes, lockable cases or gun vaults.

The department has also helped train more than 500 community volunteers in the latest in suicide prevention.

Its suicide prevention program offers training for local businesses, organizations, and schools throughout the county. The aim is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to recognize warning signs of suicidal ideation, effectively communicate with individuals deemed at risk, and connect those individuals with appropriate resources and support.

Almost 70% of trainees reported a high or very high-level knowledge of suicide warning signs following training, an increase of 47 percentage points. And 71% reported a high or very high-level knowledge of techniques useful in persuading someone to get help, an increase of 49 percentage points.

Additionally, half of the county’s K-12 schools have had their entire staff undergo training through the local suicide prevention program.

Two years ago, the county launched a Mental Health Safe Zone program, which provides local businesses and organizations with additional opportunity to support its suicide prevention efforts.

The program aims to help those who may experience mental health bias by encourage the creating of safe zones where information about mental health care can be accessed without cost or stigma. Five such zones have been established so far.

Looking to the future, the department is eyeing two additional strategies to reduce suicide fatalities.

First, it aims to enhance its partnerships with primary care providers, who are well-positioned to serve as a first line of defense.

On average, 77% of the people who die by suicide were in contact with a primary care provider in the year before their death. In fact, almost half had met with their primary provider in the month before their death.

Studies suggest that educating such providers to recognize depression, promote treatment options and temporarily restrict access to lethal means can reduce rates of death by suicide. In response, the department is actively exploring ways to better tap into that resource.

Second, Health & Human Services is committed to strengthening its outreach and messaging to a particularly vulnerable segment of the population — men approaching or exceeding middle-age.

Despite making up only about 50% of the local population, they account for 76% of its deaths by suicide. The average age of death in this group is 46.

Nationally, the suicide rate among men is almost four times higher than that of women. While the proportions vary, male suicide rates are consistently higher than females suicide rates.

A key element of the message the department is extending to all of its constituents, but particularly to the male component, is that entertaining suicidal thoughts is not indicative of weakness, broken spirit or flawed character — that, in fact, sharing such feelings with others, and reaching out for help when feeling low, is indicative of strength and courage.

To learn more about local suicide prevention efforts, and opportunities to get involved in them, visit https://www.yamhillcounty.gov/624/Suicide-Prevention. If you or someone you know needs support, please reach out via the Yamhill County Crisis Line (1-844-842-8200) or National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988).

About the writer: Kelsey Murray was named suicide prevention coordinator at Yamhill County Health & Human Services in 2022. A graduate of the University of Northern Colorado, she had previously served as coordinator of student wellness and survivor advocacy at Linfield University. She is certified as a Mental Health First Aid instructor and conducts suicide prevention training through her county post.