Citation

Satcher D. Suicide Life Threat. Behav. 1998; 28(4): 325-327.

Affiliation

Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, American Association of Suicidology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

9894300

Abstract

Suicide and suicidal behavior are public health problems that should be addressed through a systematic public health approach. The need for such an approach can be found, for example, in Pierre, SD, where the suicide rate is 13 times the national rate; in the African American community, where the suicide rate among Black youths more than doubled between 1980 and 1995; and across the United States, where suicides outnumbered homicides in 1995. The U.S. Public Health Service is applying the public health approach to suicide by preparing the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, and by holding an October conference in Reno aimed at advancing a national strategy for suicide prevention.