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Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Scott McCallum, Governor
Phyllis J. Dube, Secretary
May 14, 2002
To the Citizens of Wisconsin:
This document is the Department of Health and Family Services’ Wisconsin
Suicide Prevention Strategy. It was developed in response to the former U.S.
Surgeon General David Satcher’s Call To Action to Prevent Suicide
(1999), in which he stated that the problems of suicide and suicide prevention
are critical public health priorities for our nation. Suicide claimed the
lives of nearly 600 Wisconsin residents in the year 2000 alone. It is a
major public health problem in the state.
Many dedicated individuals from public and private sectors of our state
contributed to the development of the Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy,
providing guidelines to assist communities in developing their own
suicide awareness and prevention campaigns.
We live in an era of unprecedented scientific knowledge and health care
technology. Research shows that effective clinical care for mental, physical
and substance use disorders provides significant protective factors in
preventing suicide. The Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy lists goals and
intervention objectives based on scientific evidence that can have a direct
impact on suicide prevention efforts.
The Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy provides guidelines for us to
come together in Public-private collaborations to address the critical public
health problem of suicide in Wisconsin. Suicide prevention is a priority in
our state.
Sincerely,
Phyllis J. Dube`
Secretary
Developed By:
The Wisconsin Department of
Health and Family Services
Division of Public Health and
Division of Supportive Living
Principal Editors:
Joanne Berman, RN, BSN
Bureau of Community Mental Health
Linda J. Hale, RN, BSN, EMT
Bureau of Emergency Medical
Services & Injury Prevention
Susan Conlin Opheim
Helping Others Prevent and
Educate about Suicide, hopes
Suicide Prevention Advocates
Network, SPAN
Contributing Editor:
Susan Connors, CICSW
Bureau of Community Mental Health
Contributing DHFS
Participants:
Sinikka McCabe, Division
of Supportive Living
John Chapin, Division of
Public Health
Linda Huffer, Division of
Supportive Living
Sharon L. Lidberg, Bureau
of Family and Community Health
Gail Chapman, Office of
Strategic Finance
Vinod Daniel,
Epidemiologist, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services & Injury Prevention
For More Information, Please Contact:
Susan Conlin Opheim,
hopes,
Joanne Berman,
Bureau of Community Mental Health,
Linda Hale, Bureau of Emergency
Medical Services & Injury Prevention,
Acknowledgements
We wish to
acknowledge the work of the following people, including those who served on
the Prevention Initiative Workgroup, who provided input into the Wisconsin
Suicide Prevention Strategy:
Eloiza
Altoro-Acevedo, C.P.P., Director of
Community Outreach, Mental Health Association in Milwaukee County
Michael Calvert,
Student Intern, Bureau of Community Mental
Health, University of Wisconsin,
School of Social Work
Gail Chapman,
Assistant Area Administrator, Northern Region,
Office of Strategic Finance, WI DHFS
Jessica Davis,
Needs Development Specialist, Division of
Children and Family Services, WI DHFS
Nic Dibble, MSW,
Health and Wellness Team, Wisconsin Department
of Public Instruction
Mary Jean Erschen, RN EMT,
Emergency Medical Services for Children,
Bureau of EMS & Injury Prevention, Division of Public Health, WI DHFS, and
NAMI of Wisconsin Board Member
The Goltz Seering Agency, Inc.,
Green Bay
Shel Gross, Director of Public Policy, Mental
Health Association in Milwaukee County
Oren Hammes,
ACSW, CICSW, Criminal Justice and Clinical Coordinator, Bureau of Substance
Abuse Services, WI DHFS
Chris Hanna, MPH,
Director, National Children’s Center for Rural
and Agricultural Health &
Safety, Marshfield
George Hulick, MSW,
Clinical Consultant, Bureau of Community
Mental Health, WI DHFS
Sharon L. Lidberg,
School Age and Adolescent Coordinator, Bureau
of Family and Community Health, Division of Public Health, WI DHFS
David Mays, MD,
Director of Forensic Services, Mendota Mental
Health Institute, Division of Care Treatment Facilities, WI DHFS
National Strategy for Suicide
Prevention, US Surgeon General
David Satcher, MD, PhD
Carrie Nie, MPH,
Firearm Injury Center, Medical College of
Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Marty Ordinans,
Director, Office of Detention Facilities, WI
Department of Corrections
Lisa Ott, EMT-P,
Education and Training, American Medical
Response (AMR), Ft. Atkinson
Jerry and Elsie Weyrauch, SPAN USA, Georgia Plan for Suicide Prevention
Laurie Woods, MS,
Violent Injury Reporting System, Medical
College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
The Wisconsin Suicide
Prevention Strategy
Table of Contents
Foreword
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4
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Executive Summary
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5
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Part 1: Introduction
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6
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Overview of the Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy
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6
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The Problem of Suicide in Wisconsin
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7
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The Public Health Approach for Suicide
Prevention
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8
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Using the Public Health Approach to Suicide Prevention
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9
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Part 2: Goals, Objectives and Ideas
for Action
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10
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Part 3: Looking Ahead
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21
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Web Resources on Suicide and Suicide Prevention
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22
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References
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25
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Appendix A: Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide
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27
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Appendix B: Development of the Wisconsin Suicide Prevention
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28
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Appendix C: Glossary of Terms
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29
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The
Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy
Foreword
Suicide is a major public health problem in Wisconsin. It is the second
leading cause of death for Wisconsin young people and the tenth leading cause
of death for all ages. Our state suicide rate is three times greater than the
state homicide rate. In 2000, 588 people died of suicide in Wisconsin.
The problem of suicide is so extensive that someone in the United States
commits suicide every 17 minutes. Half a million Americans are taken to
hospitals every year because of suicide attempts. One in five people with
major depression in the United States attempts suicide, and, even more
striking, one in two people with manic depressive illness attempts suicide.
The Department of Health and Family Services, Divisions of Public Health
and Supportive Living are committed to addressing the problem of suicide in
Wisconsin. The cost of suicide in Wisconsin is significant, both in dollar and
human terms. The majority of suicides are of people in the prime of their
working lives. Suicide and suicide attempts exact an incalculable toll on
family, friends and loved ones. In response to the Surgeon General’s Call
to Action to Prevent Suicide, we are participating in the National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention by developing a guide for suicide prevention
that addresses the needs of Wisconsin residents. Research and science of the
past decade provide us with strategies to save lives by applying new knowledge
in rational ways. Suicide can be prevented.
The Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy (the Wisconsin Strategy)
provides a framework for getting every interested person in Wisconsin involved
in preventing suicide. The Wisconsin Strategy is designed to guide
individuals, agencies and organizations in local communities and at regional
and state levels in suicide prevention efforts. The Strategy seeks to change
knowledge and attitudes about suicide. It seeks to promote suicide prevention
in many of the environments in Wisconsin that touch our lives, including
education, health care, media, the workplace, faith communities, and criminal
justice.
The Strategy is not a mandate for services or a state directive. Rather,
it is offered as a guide for developing public/private partnerships that
consist of multiple organizations, agencies, and interested others. It
promotes the coordination of culturally appropriate resources and services
that link science and practice for the prevention of suicide.
Promoting suicide prevention for all citizens
of Wisconsin requires science and knowledge but, more importantly, a community
resolve to make the needed investment. The investment does not call for
massive budgets, which are not available, but rather the willingness to
educate others about suicide and mental illness and to implement
evidence-based approaches in ways that best fit each community.
Sinikka McCabe, Administrator
Division of Supportive Living
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John Chapin, Administrator
Division of Public Health
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Executive Summary
Suicide is a major public health problem
in Wisconsin
Almost 600 people die by suicide each year
in Wisconsin. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Wisconsin young
people and the tenth leading cause of death for all ages. Our state suicide rate
is more than three times greater than the state homicide rate and nearly eight
times greater than the number of deaths related to HIV.
These data show the need for a response by
individuals and communities that have not yet recognized suicide as one of
Wisconsin’s leading causes of death. The Department of Health and Family
Services, as part of its mission to help Wisconsin’s citizens become
independent, healthy and safe, has responded to the Surgeon General’s Call to
Action by developing this guide for suicide prevention that addresses the needs
of Wisconsin residents. The Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy provides a
framework to guide individuals, agencies, and organizations in local communities
and at regional and state levels in suicide prevention efforts.
Suicide is preventable
This document seeks to raise awareness and
help make suicide prevention a statewide priority. Recognition of suicide as a
public health problem, as well as the fact that the majority of persons who
die by suicide have mental health or substance abuse diagnoses, is needed.
Supporting use of local data on suicide and suicide attempts will be needed to
develop and evaluate suicide prevention efforts. Best practices in assessment,
crisis services and treatment must be available in practice to address the
incidence of suicide as well as its impact on others.
Partners in the development of this document
view suicide as a public health problem and the public health approach is used
as a model of action. The approach emphasizes the use of factual data about
suicide in Wisconsin and the use of present research and best practice for
widespread education and improvement of and access to treatment services.
The Wisconsin Suicide Prevention Strategy
document lists 11 goals with related objectives and activities that interested
persons and organizations can select from to implement suicide prevention in
their communities.
The 11 Goals
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Promote Awareness That Suicide Is A
Public Health Problem That is Preventable
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Develop Broad-based Support For Suicide
Prevention
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Develop And Implement Strategies To Reduce The Stigma Associated With
Being a Consumer of Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Suicide Prevention
Services
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Develop and Implement Community-based
Suicide Prevention Programs
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Promote Efforts To Reduce Access To
Lethal Means and Methods of Self-harm
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Implement Training For Recognition Of At-Risk Behavior And Delivery Of
Effective Treatment
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Develop and Promote Effective Clinical
and Professional Practices
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Increase Community Linkages With And
Access To Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
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Improve Reporting and Portrayals of
Suicidal Behavior, Mental Illness, and Substance Abuse in the Entertainment and
New Media
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Promote and Support Research and
Evaluation on Suicide Prevention
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Improve and Expand Systems for Data
Collection, Underscoring the Public Health Emphasis on Surveillance of Suicide
and Suicidal Behavior
Like its National model, the Wisconsin
Suicide Prevention Strategy emphasizes that for any prevention activity to go
forward, three things are necessary: a knowledge base, public support for
change, and a strategy to accomplish change. Approaches must be community
focused with leadership at the community level. Implementing the Wisconsin
Suicide Prevention Strategy requires broad participation and collaboration from
each of us in our own communities.
Our challenge is to create communities where residents believe that
suicide is preventable and that suicide prevention is everyone’s business!
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