Many primary care health professionals feel uncomfortable screening for depression and suicide. The reasons are varied. Some do not feel adequately trained to address mental health issues, others feel these issues are overly complex as well as time and labor intensive within the context of a busy primary care practice. Our four presenters, representing the fields of psychiatry, psychology, and social work, will offer easily implemented screening tools and practices that will help flag patients at high risk for depression and suicide and recommend how to efficiently manage and refer them to the appropriate level of care. As completed suicides climb in the United States, particularly among youth, the elderly, and minority populations, the primary care provider may be the best professional able to identify those at high risk of suicide, especially in light of the finding that most people who complete suicide visited their primary care professional within three to six months of their death. Asking about depression and suicide in primary care can save lives!

This activity will improve learners’ competency/performance related to patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, and systems-based practice by teaching the latest evidence-based information about veteran suicide prevention. Collaboration with civilian providers with a diverse and sometimes inadequate understanding of military culture highlight a need to provide educational tools to detect illnesses prevalent in the military, such as posttraumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury. Advances in cultural competency education have improved the skills of providers caring for veterans to include the utilization of the Crisis Response Plan to aid in the prevention of suicidal behavior in at-risk veterans.

This presentation was originally reviewed on April 5, 2022, and broadcast live online on April 6, 2022, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET.

This presentation was originally reviewed on October 10, 2023, and broadcast live online on October 11, 2023, from 12:oo PM – 1:00 PM ET.

In his new theory of suicidal behavior, Thomas Joiner proposes three factors that mark those most at risk of death: the feeling of being a burden on loved ones; the sense of isolation; and, perhaps chillingly, the learned ability to hurt oneself. He tests the theory against diverse facts taken from clinical anecdotes, history, literature, popular culture, anthropology, epidemiology, genetics, and neurobiology--facts about suicide rates among men and women; white and African-American men; anorexics, athletes, prostitutes, and physicians; members of cults, sports fans, and citizens of nations in crisis.

This presentation was originally reviewed on January 20, 2023, and broadcast live online on January 22, 2023, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET.

Suicide remains a major public health crisis and one of only three of the leading causes of death that are on the rise in the United States affecting those of every age, gender, and ethnic group.  In 2020, suicide was responsible for more ~46,000 deaths, killing on average 13.5 individuals per 100,000 lives. Coupled with this tragedy is the fact that in 2020, 1.2 million Americans made a suicide attempt and more than 12.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, with more than 3.2 million formulating a plan. There is a myriad of reasons why people take their life with recent estimates that more than half of people who die from suicide do not have a known mental disorder at the time of their death.  Join Cathy Frank, MD, as she defines the epidemiology of suicide, discusses key elements and describes the Henry Ford Zero Suicide Program.

This presentation was originally reviewed on July 14, 2022, and broadcast live online on July 13, 2022, from 12:oo PM – 1:00 PM ET. 

This presentation was originally reviewed on November 23, 2021, and was live in-person on January 9, 2019, from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET.