Identifying the issue
Every year, over a million people commit suicide, and in the United States about 45, 000 individuals take their lives in 2016.Suicide is a significant public health concern and one of the leading causes of death in America.
Background information
Suicide has been a major health concern in America. I 2016 for instance, there were more than 50, 00 recorded suicides, which was an increase from 43, 00 in 2014 according to CDC health statistics, An average, the suicide rate increase to 24 percent from 2000 to 2015, from 11 to 13 percent per 100, 000 individuals. Additionally, in 2016 CDC reported that the rate had hit a 30 percent high and later in 2018 they find out that the rate has been escalating (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). It is estimated that about 1.3 million people attempted suicide last year. Additionally, approximately 10 million adults considered suicide in the past year. The effects of suicide stretch beyond the individuals who take their lives, it usually significantly affects friends, families, and the community in general. Self-harm and suicide injuries cost society over $80 billion annually, in combined work loss and medical costs. As a result, addressing the issue properly is very important.
Among those individuals at high risk of committing suicide, the majority do not attempt suicide. According to a report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, men are more likely to commit suicide compared to women as noted by Brent (2017). Moreover, men tend to use lethal methods such as suffocation and firearms while women mostly use poisoning. Suicide is prevalent in some demographic subgroups. For instance, Alaska natives and American Indian young adults have the highest suicide rates followed by older and middle-aged male non-Hispanic whites. The suicide rate is the lowest among the African Americans and Hispanic Americans rank second lowest. However, this trend is an exception to young children since African Americans children below 12 years have a higher suicide rate than white people. Although teens and preteens have lower rates of suicide than adults, a significant increase inthe suicidal rate for youths around 14 years has been reported(Brent, 2017). Most importantly, suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers and preteens.
Problem statement
The risk factors of suicide include a prior suicidal attempt, mental disorders including depression, substance abuse, and keeping firearms in homes. The family history of substance abuse, mental illness, and suicide, family violence such as sexual and physical abuse may also push people to the extreme step. Other risk factors include being in jail, the influence of a peer, family member or a media figure, medical illness, and being over 60 years old or age between 15 to 24 years (Brent, 2017). Generally, all people regardless of their gender, age, ethnicities are the risk: nonetheless, some people are more likely to commit suicide than others.
The effect of exposure to suicides in some instances along the continuum remains unknown. What is clear is that suicide is a stigmatized death, and most suicide survivors struggle after the attempts. The humiliation resulting from suicide may imply that conventional source of comfort and supports are removed from the loss survivor since people who would generally provide support are unsure or uncomfortable of the best response (Brent, 2017). Furthermore, some of the survivors usually experience self-imposed isolation, partly because of the fear of adverse reactions and judgments from others.
Suggestions for addressing the issue
When an individual commits suicide, his or her loved ones and the community are changed in a number of ways. For example, some people may develop psychological trauma. Usually, the immediate family is offered condolences after suicides. Nonetheless, individuals who fall outside the family circle, including workmates, schoolmates, and friends are frequently disregarded,yet they also suffer psychologically as a result of suicides. Therefore, it is imperative for the public to be educated about the effect of suicide on the community as this will teach the people on how to respond to the occurrence.
Several treatment options and therapies for suicide survivors and their families are available. Primarily, effective and efficient suicide interventions approaches are centered on research findings and tested to examine the extent to which they can benefit both individuals and groups. For instance, according to Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2017), people who have borderline personality disorders are more likely to commit suicide than those without it. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) researches have supported research on approaches that have worked well for people with mental health conditions, which have been connected to suicide tendencies, for instance, anxiety and depression. Additionally, NIMH has researched tools for suicide risks for healthcare clinics to be used as guidelines for screening people who are likely to commit suicide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Some of the strategies include psychotherapies such as dialectical behavioral and cognitive behavior therapies. Effective and timely interventions and access to proper treatment options could avert the loss of a precious life.
Impact on the Health Care Delivery System
Suicide causes psychological stress because it involves the sudden death of a loved one. Failed suicide attempts weigh heavily on the survivors because of the social stigma that follows them. It is imperative for the community to be educated about the importance of not subjecting suicide survivors to emotional stress to enable them to recover and not to attempt the act again. Stakeholders in the healthcare sector should ensure that they identify persons at risk for suicide and use the appropriate treatment methods to avert suicides.
Suicide incidence are largely due to mental illness and it poses a significant challenge in the United States. For instance, in marketing economies such as the America, the burden of mental illness associated with family and friends of suicide victims is at the same level as cancer and heart disease. Additionally, suicide result to reduce quality of life among the family members and friends of the victim and these mental challenges may enormously cost the health system (American Association for Suicidology, 2014). Importantly, mental health and suicide do not act in isolation. However, mental health services and programs are continuously being reduced as more people require them.
REFERENCES
American Association for Suicidology ( 2014). We are surviving after suicide factsheet.Retrieved.http://www.suicidology.org/Portals/14/docs/Resources/FactSheets/SurvivingAfterSuicide.pdf[139 KB, 3 Pages, Print Only].
Berman, AL. (2011). Estimating the population of survivors of suicide: Seeking an evidence base. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 41(1), 110–116.
Brent D. (2010). What family studies teach us about suicidal behavior: Implications for research, treatment, and prevention. Eur Psychiatry25(5), 260–263.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Web-based injury statistics query and reporting system (WISQARS). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/index.html
Jordan J. (2001). Is suicide bereavement different? A reassessment of the literature. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. 31(1): 91–102.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 17-5044, NSDUH Series H-52). Retrieved from https://www. samhsa.gov/data/