Over the last two decades, the suicide rate in America has increased by 30%. During that time, suicide prevention measures like gun safety bills have failed to gain political traction at a national level, and cuts to Medicaid funding have threatened access to mental health care. But in recent years, an approach known as “Zero Suicide,” which focuses on using the health care system as a first line of defense, has gained financial and empirical support.
More than 50% of Americans who die by suicide visit a health care provider within a month of their death, and over 90% do so within a year, according to a study published in 2019. Such research has helped experts identify a population particularly well-positioned to intervene with people in crisis: doctors.
While some people who die by suicide have a history of prior attempts, many have no documented suicidal thoughts or psychiatric conditions associated with suicide risk. Often, suicidal ideation stays hidden because trusted individuals, including clinicians, don’t know to ask about it.
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