Youth Suicide Prevention and Research

One of the most concerning trends in child health is the increase in suicide rates over the last two decades in the United States. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in teenagers and young adults, and we should be alarmed, both as pediatricians and citizens. We also need to ask questions about what this says about our society, what kind of promise and opportunity kids see for themselves, whether they are receiving the support they need and whether our healthcare system has the capacity to manage kids before and during a mental health crisis.

Listen to pediatric experts discuss youth suicide research and screening tools

In this episode, our experts discuss:

• Youth suicide epidemiological trends 
• Opportunities for identifying kids at risk for suicide 
• Developing the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) tool for emergency departments
• Triaging with a suicide safety assessment
• Creating a center for youth suicide prevention at Nationwide Children’s
• Implementing a suicide screening clinical pathway in primary care practices
• The importance of screening all patients
• Introducing mental health in early education
• The Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention for pediatric health clinicians