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Running head: POLICY BRIEF 1

POLICY BRIEF 2

Policy Brief: Suicide Prevention

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Purpose

The purpose of this policy briefing is to provide basic insights on the effects of suicide, the federal bills available, policy alternatives, and recommend appropriate actions. The policy briefing is prepared for decision makers, policy makers, and other stakeholders in public health, including social workers in the areas of social protection an education both at the state and local levels.

The Federal Bill

The chosen federal bill is the suicide prevention Act which was introduced to the Congress on May 4, 2021. In the legislative process, the bill is in the first stage and according to GovTrack.us. (2021), the sponsors of the bill are Chris Stewart (R-UT) and Doris Matsui (D-CA). The bill was introduced with the main aim of authorizing an initiative of expanding and intensifying surveillance of suicide. The government would provide grants that would help in suicide prevention services.

The Issue

In the United States, suicide is ranked among the top 10 causes of death and it has been an evident problem in the United States. In 2016, suicide was responsible for over 40,000 deaths and there were a lot of people hospitalized as a result of suicide attempts. A lot of adults report suicide attempts. “Suicide and nonfatal self-directed violence result in an estimated $69 billion in combined medical and work loss costs” (CDC, 2018). It is important to note that this figure does not include societal effects of suicide, and this implies that the real cost and effects of suicide are even higher. According to GovTrack.us. (2021), the bill was meant to authorize grants to state and local health departments that would help prevent suicide.

Background Information

Suicide has been a problem in the United States for many years and the government and the field of public health have been working on preventing the problem for a long time. The U.S public Health Service introduced the first suicide prevention center in 1958, and a lot of other centers followed thereafter. According to Graves (2018) there are also a lot of bills witch have been enacted over the years to help in the prevention of suicide. An example is the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act (GLSMA) of 2004 which aimed at providing grants to different institutions that would aide suicide prevention. Another one was the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (JOVSPA) of 2007 which was a federal law aimed at preventing suicide among veterans. “In the United States, as of October 9, 2017, 10 (20%) states had passed legislation mandating health care professionals complete suicide prevention training, and 7 (14%) had policies encouraging training” (Grave et al., 2017). There are continued milestones being made in the prevention of suicide up to date.

Policy Options and Alternatives

Improving access to behavioral and mental health services

There are a lot of people with issues such as anxiety and depression who can’t access treatment for various reasons such as lack of social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists, financial insecurities, and lack of insurance coverage. There is need to improve access by integrating primary care and mental healthcare, increasing access to tele-health services, and increasing health insurance coverage. All these will take around 6 months or less. As far as it may be difficult to implement, it will benefit a lot of people in the U.S

Reducing stigma in the society

There are cultural values that may not allow people with mental problems to seek help. Reducing stigma will see a lot of people seek help and develop surroundings that can reduce suicide rates. A training of three months in the communities will help achieve this.

Working with community representatives and community members to reduce suicide risks

Encouraging the community on safe storage of dangerous households that aid suicide such as firearms and medications will help reduce the rates of suicide. Families will ensure at-risk individuals are separated from lethal product. It will be difficult to ensure each household stores lethal products safely, but once implemented, it will save a lot of lives.

Stakeholder perspectives

Public health professionals, the government, community representatives, and families have always supported proper use and storage of items such as firearms. All these stakeholders have always encouraged the expansion of healthcare services to include people with mental health problems. The implementation of the above policy options will be supported by all the stakeholders

Recommendations

The implementation of comprehensive mental health programs will help in suicide prevention. There must be a comprehensive analysis of the available programs and the goals and objectives in order to ensure the programs introduced are effective and sustainable in suicide prevention.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2018). Connectedness, I. PREVENTING SUICIDE IN RURAL AMERICA.

Graves, J. M., Mackelprang, J. L., Van Natta, S. E., & Holliday, C. (2018). Suicide prevention training: Policies for health care professionals across the United States as of October 2017. American journal of public health, 108(6), 760-768.

GovTrack.us. (2021). H.R. 2955 — 117th Congress: Suicide Prevention Act. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/hr2955