Best Practices Links
- The Spectrum of Prevention chart offers some
examples of how different best practices in suicide prevention fit into the public health Spectrum of Prevention.
- The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices
- To find programs that have been independently evaluated and have shown
measurable success in reducing suicidal thinking and/or behavior, visit
SAMHSA´s National Registry of
Evidence-based Programs and Practices.
Several programs that address
known protective or risk factors for suicide but may not have been evaluated
for effectiveness in suicide prevention can also be found under programs that
address substance abuse and violence prevention more broadly.
- The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) Best Practices Registry
- The SPRC maintains a directory of programs and policies that
have met different levels of criteria for best practices. Their
Best
Practices Registry (BPR) For Suicide Prevention
is available online.
- Level I programs have proven to be effective according to SAMHSA´s
registry guidelines and/or in a prior review conducted by the SPRC.
- Level II contains statements that summarize current knowledge in the
suicide prevention field and provides best practice recommendations to guide
program and policy development.
- Level III programs have been reviewed by a panel of experts and found
to meet certain criteria for accuracy, likelihood for meeting program
objectives, and adherence to program design standards. Reviews of these
programs are not based on evidence of effectiveness (evaluation). Although
specific treatment methods are not included, there are practices related to
treatment including policies and protocols for aftercare, case-finding, and compliance.
- The Harvard School of Public Health "Means Matter" Campaign
- Communities may engage in a wide variety of efforts to reduce access
to the means a person uses to attempt suicide. For program examples and
recommendations, visit the Means
Matter Web site.
- The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention
- The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention also contains specific
recommendations for activities that should be undertaken by state and
local governments together with community-based partners. The
National Strategy for
Suicide Prevention is available online.
- For a thorough review of research on suicide and suicide prevention,
see Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative, published in 2002 by the
National Institute of Medicine.
- Current research in the field of suicide prevention is also published
in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, the journal of the American
Association of Suicidology.
- The Suicide Prevention
Resource Center
provides research updates and summaries to anyone who is interested through weekly E-mail newsletters.
