Suicide Prevention Center & Working Group
Suicide is a global public health emergency
-
11th
Leading Cause of Death
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death for all age groups world-wide.
-
2nd
Youth at Risk
Suicide disproportionately affects youth. It is the 2nd leading cause of death for those in age groups 10-24 and 25–34.
-
20%
Youth at Risk
Suicide is the cause of 20% of deaths in the 10-24 group.
-
3x
Males at Higher Risk
Male risk for suicide is three times higher than for females.
-
52%
Public Health Emergency
Youth suicide rates have increased 52% between 2000 – 2021.
Suicide results from a complicated set of factors - resulting from a person’s biology and from their environment, experiences, and emotional development, and so, the Johns Hopkins Suicide Prevention Center convenes a collaborative network of investigators and clinicians with multidisciplinary expertise in psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, public health, economics, and biostatistics to study suicide risk and prevention through an evidence-based lens and to propagate best practices.
Led by Drs. Holly Wilcox, Paul Nestadt, and John V. Campo, the Suicide Prevention Center faculty are composed of researchers, clinicians, and public advocates across the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, the Johns Hopkins Children Center, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Suicide Prevention Center Leadership
Holly Wilcox, Ph.D.
Paul Nestadt, M.D.
John V. Campo, M.D.
Approaches
Our goal is to save lives through six channels:
- Accurately identifying proximal risk factors for suicide (research)
- Developing effective, evidence-based interventions for suicide
- Providing effective and innovative clinical care to those at risk of suicide
- Training medical and educational experts
- Sharing knowledge with families and the community to foster recognition of risk factors and help-seeking in pursuit of appropriate interventions
- Advocating for policies that support effective suicide prevention
Strategies
Tangible strategies include the following:
- Psychiatric Autopsies: Learning from the past how to predict suicide risk in the future
- Esketamine Clinics and Clinical Trials: Using the “anti-suicide drug” to ameliorate the risk of suicide
- Safe Storage Navigators: Removing lethal means, especially guns, from the environment of those at risk from suicide
- Advocacy (State and National): Moving lawmakers and communities towards policies that will save lives
- Education: Increasing depression literacy and young people’s willingness to seek help
Suicide and the Role of Firearms
Dr. Paul Nestadt presented the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Grand Rounds about Suicide, Firearms, and Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
Data Science to Assess Suicide Risk
Dr. Holly Wilcox presented at NASEM in 2022 about "Improving individual and population-level prediction and prevention at the state and local level: Innovative Data Science Approaches to Asses Suicide Rick in Individuals, Populations & Communities: Current Practices, Opportunities, and Risks.
