Expansion of comprehensive suicide prevention across the U.S. - the illinois department of public health (DPH) will carry out the illinois comprehensive suicide prevention initiative to support the…

Expansion of comprehensive suicide prevention across the U.S. - the illinois department of public health (DPH) will carry out the illinois comprehensive suicide prevention initiative to support the advancement of the illinois suicide prevention strategic plan by implementing and evaluating a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention in illinois. The purpose of the project is to increase partner engagement, awareness of suicide prevention activities and contributors, increase utilization of partnerships and prevention strategies, and increase the use of evaluation data to improve suicide prevention programs in the state. Strategies and activities include: - development of a partnership plan for the illinois suicide prevention alliance (ispa) and expanding the number of ispa stakeholders. - conducting ongoing surveillance and data analysis to identify vulnerable populations and disseminate those findings. - conducting an environmental scan of existing suicide prevention organizations and identifying/maintaining a list of local coalitions addressing suicide related issues to identify communities which are priority areas. - funding reduction of lethal means interventions at suicide hotspots, increasing awareness of reporting guidelines and safe messaging, developing a zero-suicide network with support for one healthcare system, and offering social-emotional learning programs in the selected community. - development of a communication and dissemination plan for collected data and suicide prevention messaging. - ongoing collection and dissemination of data and the development of recommendations for improvement. Key outcomes of the project are a 10% reduction in suicide morbidity and mortality in selected disproportionately affected populations across the state. Populations have been identified through evidence-based practice and surveillance data. Data and evaluation from each of the project activities will be utilized to build awareness and further inform the implementation of the comprehensive illinois suicide prevention strategic plan.