Suicide: Prevention Strategies

Suicide is a serious and preventable public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities. While the causes of suicide vary, suicide prevention strategies share two goals: to reduce factors that increase risk and to increase factors that promote resilience or coping. Prevention requires a comprehensive approach that occurs at all levels of society—from the individual, family, and community levels to the broader social environment. Effective prevention strategies are needed to promote awareness of suicide, while also promoting prevention, resilience, and a commitment to social change.

CDC’s Preventing Suicide: A Technical Package of Policies, Programs, and Practices [6 MB, 62 Pages, 508] highlights strategies based on the best available evidence to help states and communities prevent suicide. The strategies and their corresponding approaches are listed in the table below.

Preventing Suicide
Preventing Suicide
Strategy	Approach
Strengthen economic supports	Strengthen household financial security Housing stabilization policies
Strengthen access and delivery of suicide care	Coverage of mental health conditions in health insurance policies Reduce provider shortages in under-served areas Safer suicide care through systems change
Create protective environments	Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide Organizational policies and culture Community-based policies to reduce excessive alcohol use
Promote connectedness	Peer norm programs Community engagement activities
Teach coping and problem-solving skills	Social-emotional learning programs Parenting skill and family relationship programs
Identify and support people at risk	Gatekeeper training Crisis intervention Treatment for people at risk of suicide Treatment to prevent re-attempts
Lessen harms and prevent future risk	Postvention Safe reporting and messaging about suicide