HHS launches national strategy for suicide prevention

Last week, under the direction of the Biden–Harris administration, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a national strategy for suicide prevention and the first-ever federal action plan in the US. The launch marks the start of a 10-year public–private partnership to address the national crisis.

According to the HHS press release, almost 50,000 individuals in the US died by suicide in 2022, accounting for roughly one death every 11 minutes. This statistic highlights an alarming mental health epidemic.

To start, the national strategy highlights 15 goals that comprise four strategic directions.

The first strategic direction is community-based suicide prevention, which includes the following goals: establishing effective, broad-based, collaborative, and sustainable suicide prevention partnerships; supporting comprehensive community-based suicide prevention; reducing access to means that people at risk of suicide can use; conducting postventions; integrating suicide prevention into workplace and community areas; implementing state, tribal, local, and territorial level suicide prevention infrastructure; and integrating research-informed suicide prevention communication.

The second strategic direction focuses on treatment and crisis services, which includes two primary goals: implementing suicide prevention services as a component of healthcare and improving access to and quality of crisis services.

The surveillance, quality improvement, and research strategic directions have multiple goals, including improving the use and access of data on suicide-related surveillance, research, evaluation, and quality improvement. The HHS is also planning on promoting and supporting suicide prevention research.

The final strategic direction is focused on health equity, which includes the following goals:

• Embedding health equity into suicide prevention strategies
• Implementing comprehensive prevention strategies for marginalized communities
• Establishing an equitable and diverse suicide prevention workforce
• Expanding suicide prevention programs for disproportionately affected populations

Beyond the national strategy, the HHS has also implemented the first federal action plan, which comprises 200 initiatives to be taken by the federal government over the next three years to improve suicide prevention strategies. These initiatives will be monitored, evaluated, and adjusted as needed over time.

“Suicide is a complex public health problem, tragically impacting our friends, family members, neighbors and community members nationwide,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in the HHS press release “The Biden–Harris Administration has consistently prioritized the health and well-being of Americans and this strategy — and the unprecedented interagency coordination demonstrated in the federal action plan — commits to the American people that we are here for you.”