Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
Puerto Rico’s Broad-Based Approach to Suicide Prevention in Adults The Commission on Suicide Prevention (CSP) from the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDoH) will implement a broad-based public health response to suicide with upstream approaches targeting the disproportionately affected population of Spanish-speaking adult males in rural and underserved communities in the west and central mountain region of the archipelago of Puerto Rico (PR). The difference in suicide mortality between men and women in Puerto Rico is four times higher than in the United States. The chosen catchment area is comprised of the five municipalities with the highest suicide burden. A comparison of suicide age-adjusted rates from 2015 to 2020, among the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, sheds light on where those disparities are most evident. The municipalities of Aibonito (15.6), Orocovis (15.4), Adjuntas (15.2), Rincón (14.9) and Camuy (13.7) have twice the rate of suicides compared to that of the general population (8.1). In these municipalities, suicide rates double, and sometimes triple, in the adult male population. Through this project we aim to build bridges between public policy and community based interventions to reduce deaths by suicide and non-fatal suicide attempts in PR. To achieve this, a phased implementation approach targeting these four goals will be used: (1) Create the PR Suicide Prevention Coalition; (2) Increase suicide prevention workforce capacity and strengthen protective factors at the community level; (3) Reduce access to lethal means in adults at risk, and (4) Ensure the implementation of protocols and procedures that promote referrals to 988. By the end of year 1, we will publish the PR Suicide Prevention Coalition Strategic Plan, which will help outline collaborative efforts to implement and evaluate prevention strategies throughout the project's lifetime. We aim to increase by 20% the coalition partners’ knowledge on how to implement a rapid response protocol to suicidal behavior. In collaboration with gun shop/range owners and law enforcement agencies, we will develop the first Gun Storage Map in PR. To address the public policy upstream level, we will educate and offer recommendations to policymakers by providing suicide prevention policy education kits for at least 15% of members from the Health and Economic Development Commissions from both the House of Representatives and the Senate of PR. During years 2-3, we will conduct community-based mental health promotion shared activities to impact at least 120 adult males in the catchment area. A Communication and Dissemination Plan will be developed to coordinate media interviews in local regional radio and tv stations to promote these shared activities. Additionally, the Project Staff will have conducted at least six sessions of a 1-hour webinar titled Doing Our Part in Reducing Access to Lethal Means to impact at least 200 health and public safety workforce employees serving adults in PR. We will implement evidence-based suicide care practices by assuring provision of the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) to at least one mental health professional from each of the five primary health care clinics serving the catchment area. To increase sustainability and accessibility to evidence-based educational resources, we will publish one online course titled Doing Our Part to Save Lives: Lethal Means Safety Guidelines for Suicide Prevention based on the Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) model adapted to Spanish-speaking clinicians. The project’s trainers will assess adherence and implementation fidelity of the CAMS model through follow-up consultation meetings. A printed and digital Suicide Risk Protocol Flowchart to connect adults at risk for suicide with services provided by the Línea PAS 9-8-8 crisis hotline will be provided to all coalition partners.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).