Three department of defense-funded public health approaches to reduce military suicide

Abstract

Background: Suicide is a serious and growing public health concern, both for the United States (U.S.) and for the Department of Defense (DoD).

Methods: Using the social-ecological framework, we provide examples of how three newly developed, DoD-funded pilots/programs have incorporated a public health approach to help prevent military suicide.

Key results: The first two programs demonstrate how non-clinical, community-based approaches can be tailored to specific military subgroups at the individual, relational, and community levels. These programs include a universal suicide prevention program developed for Special Operations service members, spouses, and mental health providers, and a selective suicide prevention program pilot developed for military chaplains to support them in their role as a "gateway" to care for distressed service members, improve mental health and chaplaincy collaboration, and prevent burnout. The third program illustrates how the creation of and policy of a methodology/infrastructure to conduct standardized, theory-driven suicide death reviews across the DoD may inform the DoD public health approach to surveillance, review, and synthesis of suicide data, informed by the social-ecological model. Potential program limitations and evaluation efforts are discussed.

Conclusion: Future prevention approaches should enhance coordination and communication between DoD, VA, and community organizations to enhance multi-level suicide prevention programming for military personnel, veterans, and civilians.