Suicide Prevention in Youth

Every Wednesday, 8:00 – 9:00 AM

Suicide is a growing public health concern in Illinois. While the suicide rate in Illinois is lower than the national rate, it is still a mounting concern as the eleventh leading cause of death in the state (IDPH).  As noted in the Illinois Suicide Prevention Strategic Plan (IDPH, 2021), there are a variety of “cultural communities” that define higher suicide risk, this includes age (youth, middle-aged men, older adults); military service members, veterans, and their families; groups facing discrimination due to race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, religion, or disability; individuals with chronic disease or chronic pain; individuals with mental health conditions or substance use disorders;  survivors of a suicide attempt; individuals that lost a loved one due to suicide; and victims of trauma. Among young adults ages 15 to 36, suicide became the third leading cause of death in Illinois. Between 2009 and 2020, the rate of deaths due to intentional self-harm had increased for young adults (CDC WONDER, 2020). Certain subpopulation experience high rates of suicidal ideation. In Chicago, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic middle school students had rates of suicide attempts that were more than double that of their White counterparts (Chicago Health Atlas, 2021). Based on data from the Trevor Project (2022), 45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year and 14% had attempted suicide. Suicide among youth also seems to have increased since the pandemic. One study looking at data from Illinois hospitals showed an increase in suicidal ideation related emergency room visits between 2016 and 2021 for those aged 5 to 19 (Brewer et al., 2022).

This series aims to train pediatricians, family medicine and other providers who treat youth in implementing evidence-based, patient-centered best practices for assessing suicide risk and providing appropriate treatment based on the risk assessment. ECHO sessions will be comprised of a short didactic and role-play simulation (20-25 minutes), followed by at least 2 participant-led case presentations (35-40 minutes).

Topics for Case-Based Learning and Discussion Include:

• Suicide Epidemiology & Zero Suicide model
• Adolescents and Families
• General Screening
• Population-Specific Screening
• Assessment Part 1
• Assessment Part 2
• Safety Planning & Medication treatment
• Referral and Follow-Up
• Patient After-care and Transitions in care