Nearly half of people who die by suicide have a visit with a healthcare professional within four weeks of their death. These interactions offer a key opportunity for providers to identify individuals at risk for a suicide attempt and to connect them with care. Evidence-based screening tools, which are simple to administer, are available to help clinicians quickly and accurately identify patients at risk of suicide and assess their needs, but these tools are not used in all healthcare settings.
The Pew Charitable Trusts’ suicide risk reduction project aims to make suicide risk assessment and care a part of routine healthcare in the United States, and to fill gaps between people at risk of suicide and the care they need by empowering hospitals and health systems to expand the use of evidenced-based screening and interventions.
