PROJECT SUMMARY
The suicide rates among U.S. military service members and Veterans (MV) remain alarmingly high. The suicide
rate for active military service members has increased from 20.4 suicides in 2014 to 28.7 suicides in 2020 per
100,000. Veterans’ suicide rates have remained high, approximately 2 times higher than the general population
(14.5 per 100,000). Unfortunately, the current suicide approaches from the Department of Defense and the
Department of Veterans Affairs are insufficient. Further, recent literature shows inconsistent findings of suicide
causes and suicide attempts across measures and time points, and lack of effectiveness of suicide screening
and interventions. This is problematic for proactively and effectively preventing and stopping suicide among the
MV populations. Additionally, less research has focused on suicide ideation than suicide completion/deaths,
which means we are ultimately missing the first chance to stifle suicide and address risk factors.
We will use secondary datasets and innovative machine learning (ML) to develop early screening and
intervention modeling to address military suicide issues. The study will apply data-driven ML to improve MV
healthcare quality by accelerating the implementation of patient-centered outcomes research, using several
personalized-contextual variables of 10 clinically applicable dimensions, to predict suicide risk levels. Further,
we will develop person-centered, context-sensitive ML modeling for suicide ideation (SI) and suicide attempt (SA)
data-visualization profiles, which will assist in clinical screening, evaluation, and intervention. Our specific aims
are to (1) establish ML algorithms detecting SI/SA at different military statuses to inform clinicians and (2) develop
an SI/SA cross-sectional and longitudinal risk data-visualization profile for clinicians. Our overarching goals are
to demonstrate (1) a new SI/SA screening paradigm and (2) a new SI/SA prevention, evidence-based
intervention, and policy-making model for the MV populations.
We harness big data and innovative ML applications to provide a 360-degree view of MV patients, which will
improve healthcare quality and MV patient outcomes, specifically decreasing SI/SA. Our project will exemplify
the Healthcare Effectiveness and Outcomes Research mission to make healthcare safer, higher quality, more
accessible, equitable, and affordable. Most importantly, we will ensure that clinical professionals and relevant
stakeholders who serve the MV populations can understand and apply the study’s findings.
