Spring 2009

Coming Your Way
Identifying and Assisting Young Iowans at Risk for Suicide

Carol Hinton, Nurse Clinician, Bureau of Family Health, Iowa Department of Public Health

This month, four or five young Iowans will end their lives. And next month, five more will die by suicide. This pattern has existed for the last seven years.

Each year since 2000, an average of 56 young Iowans between the ages of 10 to 24 have killed themselves. And thousands more tried to end their lives and were hospitalized for life-threatening injuries.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among the youth of Iowa. This pattern of death, injury, and hospitalization will likely continue month after month, year after year, unless Iowa makes some drastic changes in the way it approaches mental health services and addresses some of the root causes of suicide.

In the next issue:

	Find out how Iowa is addressing this public health problem in the schools with a mental health screening and early identification tool called TeenScreen.
	Learn about the barriers that prevent youth (as well as adults) from addressing and seeking help for their mental health problems.
	Find out about resources available for pediatric offices, student health centers, and other medical providers to help identify mental health problems in youth and prevent suicide.