Overview

In 2016, nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide. A recent report from CDC tells us that suicide rates have increased by more than 30% in half of US states between 1999 and 2016. The report also tells us that according to data from 27 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS, 2015), more than half of people who died by suicide were not known to have a mental health condition; but commonly reported relationship, substance misuse, physical health, job, money, legal or housing stress among other circumstances. To stem the tide of this growing public health problem, a national goal was set to reduce the annual suicide rate 20% by 2025. Meeting this goal will require implementation of comprehensive suicide prevention strategies which relies on a public health approach that goes beyond a focus on mental health conditions alone. Suicide prevention includes everyone in communities across the public and private sectors, from government agencies, to people with lived experience, to employers, to healthcare systems and beyond.

Learning Objectives

As a result of participating in this self-study training, participants will:  

• Learn the latest findings on suicide from CDC scientists, State Health Department leaders in suicide prevention, and experts on suicide among U.S. Veterans.
• Have a better understanding of how suicide is more than just a concern in mental health and that it spans across public health, substance abuse, and injury prevention fields as well.
  

Presenters

• Jerry Reed, Education Development Center
• Deborah Stone, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Sheryll Brown, Private Consultant/Oklahoma State Department of Health – retired
• Kimberly Myers, Utah Department of Human Services
• Jeffrey Hill, Rhode Island Department of Health

Continuing Education

Continuing education credits are offered for this training for Safe States members. These include credits for individuals who are Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and Certified in Public Health (CPH). This self-study training is designated for: (1) Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 1.5 total Category I continuing education contact hour, and (2) for professionals with a Certificate of Public Health (CPH) to receive 1.0 CPH Recertification Credit. 

Training Instructions
 

To complete this training, you will need to:  

1. Participate in the training by accessing the recorded webinar and additional resources:
   Recorded Webinar
   Webinar Slides
2. Complete the online evaluation which includes questions for you to report CPH or CHES continuing education credits for this training. Please note, you must complete this online evaluation and its CPH and/or CHES questions in order for Safe States to submit your CPH and/or CHES credits to the respective CEU providers. 
3. Create your certificate of completion.          

If you encounter any technical difficulties related to this training, please contact the Safe States Alliance at info@safestates.org or (770) 690-9000.