title: Bringing the public health approach to the problem of suicide.
abstract: Suicide and suicidal behavior are public health problems that should be addressed through a systematic public health approach. The need for such an approach can be found, for example, in Pierre, SD, where the suicide rate is 13 times the national rate; in the African American community, where the suicide rate among Black youths more than doubled between 1980 and 1995; and across the United States, where suicides outnumbered homicides in 1995. The U.S. Public Health Service is applying the public health approach to suicide by preparing the first-ever Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health, and by holding an October conference in Reno aimed at advancing a national strategy for suicide prevention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Satcher
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000092864:Suicide Prevention