The US Air Force suicide prevention program: implications for public health policy.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the effectiveness of the US Air Force Suicide Prevention Program (AFSPP) in reducing suicide, and we measured the extent to which air force installations implemented the program.


METHODS
We determined the AFSPP's impact on suicide rates in the air force by applying an intervention regression model to data from 1981 through 2008, providing 16 years of data before the program's 1997 launch and 11 years of data after launch. Also, we measured implementation of program components at 2 points in time: during a 2004 increase in suicide rates, and 2 years afterward.


RESULTS
Suicide rates in the air force were significantly lower after the AFSPP was launched than before, except during 2004. We also determined that the program was being implemented less rigorously in 2004.


CONCLUSIONS
The AFSPP effectively prevented suicides in the US Air Force. The long-term effectiveness of this program depends upon extensive implementation and effective monitoring of implementation. Suicides can be reduced through a multilayered, overlapping approach that encompasses key prevention domains and tracks implementation of program activities.
Knox
Kerry L
KL
Canandaigua VA Medical Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Canandaigua, NY, USA. kerry.knox@va.gov
Pflanz
Steven
S
Talcott
Gerald W
GW
Campise
Rick L
RL
Lavigne
Jill E
JE
Bajorska
Alina
A
Tu
Xin
X
Caine
Eric D
ED
D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States; D000092864:Suicide Prevention
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