Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Jun;50(3):679-687.
doi: 10.1111/sltb.12618. Epub 2020 Feb 4.

Evaluation of Prevention Efforts and Risk Factors Among Veteran Suicide Decedents Who Died by Firearm

Brooke A Ammerman  1 , Mark A Reger  1   2
Affiliations

Evaluation of Prevention Efforts and Risk Factors Among Veteran Suicide Decedents Who Died by Firearm

Brooke A Ammerman et al. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2020 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Veterans die by suicide at a higher rate than the U.S. population, and veterans more frequently use a firearm as the suicide method. Consequently, firearm accessibility and storage represent important prevention considerations. This project aimed to explore the implementation of suicide prevention efforts among veterans who went on to die by suicide, with and without the use of a firearm, and to identify factors that differentiated veteran suicide decedents to help inform suicide prevention efforts.

Methods: Data from the Veteran Health Administration Behavior Health Autopsy Program was analyzed for 97 veteran suicide decedents.

Results: Results demonstrated that veterans who used a firearm for suicide were less likely to have engaged in suicide prevention efforts overall and were less likely to have received lethal means safety counseling / safety planning. Veterans who died by firearm had lower levels of notable risk factors (e.g., prior suicide attempt, no-shows for appointments), however were more likely to have a documented unsecured firearm in their home.

Conclusion: These findings support the benefit of broadening the reach of suicide prevention efforts, especially for high-risk veterans with access to firearms.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Ahmedani, B. K., Simon, G. E., Stewart, C., Beck, A., Waitzfelder, B. E., Rossom, R., et al. (2014). Health care contacts in the year before suicide death. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 29, 870-877.
    1. Anestis, M. D. (2016). Prior suicide attempts are less common in suicide decedents who died by firearms relative to those who died by other means. Journal of Affective Disorders, 189, 106-109.
    1. Anestis, M. D., & Bryan, C. J. (2013). Means and capacity for suicidal behavior: A comparison of the ratio of suicide attempts and deaths by suicide in the U.S. military and general population. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148, 42-47.
    1. Anestis, M. D., Khazem, L. R., & Anestis, J. C. (2017). Differentiating suicide decedents who died using firearms from those who died using other methods. Psychiatry Research, 252, 23-28.
    1. Anestis, M. D., Selby, E. A., & Butterworth, S. E. (2017). Rising longitudinal trajectories in suicide rates: the role of firearm suicide rates and firearm legislation. Preventive Medicine, 100, 159-166.

LinkOut - more resources