Utah strategy for suicide prevention 2023-2026 - the utah strategy for suicide prevention (USSP) 2023-2026 will implement comprehensive suicide prevention strategies for rural adults and older…

Utah strategy for suicide prevention 2023-2026 - the utah strategy for suicide prevention (USSP) 2023-2026 will implement comprehensive suicide prevention strategies for rural adults and older adults statewide, with a targetted focus in tricounty, utah which is made up of the rural counties of uintah, daggett, and duchesne. Building infrastructure and partnerships for rural and older adult suicide prevention will be a primary focus of this project. USSP will partner with senior-serving entities, and rural health and behavioral healthcare providers to assess needs. Develop or refine mental health and suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention plans and policies, provide training, and develop referral pathways to increase access to, and quality of, health and behavioral healthcare. USSP will also address rural capacity to develop and sustain comprehensive community-based suicide prevention aimed at helping communities create policies, programs, and services that reduce suicide and improve individual, family, and community health through utilization of the "community-led suicide prevention toolkit". Current suicide prevention efforts in tricounty are guided by northeastern counseling center (NCC) and the suicide prevention advisory coalition. The tricounty area has the highest age-adjusted suicide rate of any health district in utah. Suicide by firearm in tricounty in 2021 was 27.7, which is the second highest rate in the state. Tricounty is home to the northern UTE tribe and the uintah-ouray reservation. Approximately 9% of older adults (55+) served by NCC identify as native american/alaskan natives. NCC will build strategic partnerships to target rural and older adults, and native american communities in their area. NCC will work with senior centers, local businesses, and health services to provide suicide prevention services, including, distribution of 475 safe medication and firearm storage devices annually, and training 150 rural adults in gatekeeper training annually. NCC will also provide social connectedness activities reaching 150 older adults and native americans annually, and a foster grandparent program to enhance protective factors in older adults by reaching 50 older adults annually. Lessons learned from the USSP project will be shared to build statewide capacity for state and local strategies for suicide prevention in older adults.