Officials: Talking about suicide is helping Utah prevent it more often

SALT LAKE CITY — Beefed up prevention efforts, intervention and community events are helping to curtail Utah's high suicide rate, according to state officials.

While the latest numbers aren't yet available, "the numbers appear to be leveling off," said Doug Thomas, director of Utah's Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health. He believes the successes are due to increased awareness and said "more people are talking about suicide."

Suicide is the No. 1 cause of death for teens ages 10 to 17 and the sixth leading cause of death among all Utahns, making it a "major public health concern in Utah," Thomas said.

Utah is ranked fourth in the nation for suicide-related deaths, significantly above the national average. The numbers have climbed ever since at least 1999, but more steadily since 2009, according to death certificate data gathered from the Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics.

Lawmakers in 2013 created a position within the division of mental health to oversee efforts to help prevent suicide and better intervene when someone attempts to kill themselves. The Utah Legislature provided funding to some of those programs in 2015.

The Utah State Office of Education, Department of Health and other committees throughout the state have implemented processes to help address people with suicidal thoughts and make necessary resources more available to help people in need.

"Unfortunately, there is a contagion factor with suicide," Thomas told lawmakers at the state's Health and Human Services interim committee meeting on Wednesday. He said support for family and friends and the community-at-large is of utmost importance following a suicide in the community.

Since the 2013 plan was implemented to develop prevention and intervention activities throughout the state, as well as educate state officials, clergy, health care workers, military personnel and others on how to better deal with the situation if it arises, Thomas said efforts are paying off.

"We've worked hard on training our workforce," he said. "The preliminary numbers show that the rate of increase we've had the last few years seems to have leveled off."

He's hoping data show there were fewer suicides in 2014 than in previous years.

From 2009 to 2013, Utah's age-adjusted suicide rate was 19.4 per 100,000 people, an average of 503 suicides in the state each year.

Most recent data (2012) show that 2,734 Utahns were seen in emergency departments and 1,605 were hospitalized for self-inflicted injuries. And one in 15 Utah adults reports having had serious thoughts about suicide, according to a health department survey. Among teens, the percentage who think about suicide is even greater (14.4 percent), resulting in more attempts and inflicting self-harm.

Thomas said there are some factors unique to Utah and other mountainous states that are believed to contribute to the higher suicide rates, including altitude and its relation to higher depression rates in higher elevations. Another issue might be with Utah's urban sprawl and its higher number of rural communities where access to proper care is limited.

While youth tend to be the focus of suicide prevention efforts, Thomas said suicide rates are highest among middle-aged men. The Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition is working on campaigns to target that population.

Thankfully, Thomas said, "most people who make an attempt at suicide do not die from suicide."

"Ninety percent go on to live productive and happy lives when they get the help and services they need," he said, adding that adoption of a universal screening tools, increasing awareness and encouraging people to talk about their intentions or plans to commit suicide are methods that are helping the situation.

Providing gun locks to people also seems to be helping, Thomas said.

During his presentation of a report of state suicide prevention programs to the interim committee, Thomas said coalitions of interested people throughout the state are working hard to save lives. For more information, visit www.utahsuicideprevention.org.

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