GLSA Evaluation

According to the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), 4,822 teens at ages 15 t to 24, died from suicide in 2011 in America. Because of teens suicide facts, it is the third leading cause of death. In 2007, teen suicide was low of 9.6 deaths for every 100,000 adolescence, while the current statistics collected reveal about 14% increase which indicate a 10.9 deaths for every 100,000 adolescence in the years 2011 to 2013. Teen suicide rates increase is unknown, but suicide education, public awareness campaigns, mental illness screening including access to mental health treatment may contribute to rotate the trend of teen suicide (Tracy, 2016). The Illinois Violent Death Reporting System (IVDRS) was created to assist in preventing the deaths

Another prominent grant was the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. This grant centers around the goal of reducing suicides and suicidal tendencies through increasing training and resources for states, tribes and

In the literature and research, there are many alternatives suggested to address the problem of young veteran suicide. These alternatives were analyzed by this researcher using relevant evaluation criteria, including cost-effectiveness, efficacy, and viability from an operational, economic, and political viewpoint. Mainly, the most-effective alternative was the one with the least cost and most likely successful implementation in terms of robustness and improvability.

Schools are a cost-effective way to reach youth, yet there is no conclusive evidence regarding the most effective prevention strategy. We conducted a systematic review of the empirical literature on school-based suicide prevention programs. Signs of Suicide and the Good Behavior Game were the only programs found to reduce suicide attempts. There are few evidence-based, school-based suicide prevention programs, a combination of which may be effective. It would be useful to evaluate the effectiveness of general mental health promotion programs on the outcome of suicide (Katz et al.,

The structure of our program is to work with school sites in order to train a core group of students on how to identify the risk factors and warning signs of suicide. The goal is for the students to ultimately be a link to a trusted adult or resource on campus for a student who may be contemplating suicide. Once students are trained we work with them to create schoolwide campaigns which focus on raising awareness to help resources that are always available when needed.

The entire ordeal began with the release of the Central for Disease Control’s report on the increasing rates of suicide. The research started in early 1999 since suicide rates were extremely low. This way, the increase would be able to show a larger amount of information and a better growth. There was a definite, overall growth, of 24% in the number of deaths by suicide in 1999 versus 2014 (CDC 2016). Most groups went through an increase except for males over 75, whose rate decreased by 8% throughout the given time period. All the other groups, defined by age, gender and ethnicity, had staggering increases.One group in particular, girls aged 10-14, underwent the biggest increase, with their rates tripling.

Prof Ella Arensman, the foundation’s director of research, said research shows that the approach proved highly effective in helping to prevent suicide and improve services for those most at risk. The programme involves large-scale training of professionals, high-quality services for those at risk and much closer links between health services and accredited services in the community. The model led to a fall of

Research on this program has shown a favorable outcome of reduced suicide. “At a 3-month posttest, it was found that intervention high school students were less likely than control students to report having had suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts” (“SAMHSA,” 2014). Results were taken from questionnaires. This program, however, is ineffective for increasing the receipt of mental health and/or substance abuse treatment and ineffective for increasing social competence related to help seeking behaviors (“SAMHSA,” 2014). Overall the program showed improved in suicidal thoughts and behaviors and knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about mental health.

Suicide is an epidemic that has taken the lives of countless people of all age groups. In the United States between 1999 and 2014, the rate of suicides has practically doubled. The frightening crisis has led to the creation of numerous suicide prevention programs offered through schools, communities, and organizations. Often, the programs are created with specific goals in mind and are meant to target certain groups of people, such as programs dedicated to increasing awareness of teen suicide. Despite the efforts made to prevent self-inflicted deaths, there are still an alarming number of suicides that take place every day. When a person commits suicide, many people suffer. Each death may create numerous suicide survivors who are left to suffer the consequences of losing a loved one and many of the unanswered questions that come with it. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of people each year are affected by suicide. In order to address the suicide crisis in the United States, the quantity of well-executed suicide prevention programs should be increased, as doing so will both increase awareness and the amount of help available to those suffering from suicidal thoughts.

Two people from my high school committed suicide during the four years that I was there, plus one more since I have left, yet the school did nothing to prevent any others from happening. Sure, right after these occurrences, the school counselors would open their doors to provide a place for those left behind to grieve, but the school as a whole never truly took a step toward anything even resembling suicide prevention. Teen suicide is an issue that has grown more and more common in the recent years, and, as of 2014, is the second most common cause of death among ten to twenty-four year olds (Amer. Foundation for Suicide Prevention). With the level of youth suicides ranking so high, why should the one place in which teenagers spend the majority of their time, schools, not be the first to jump on an opportunity to keep them from happening? It is of utmost importance that schools take preventative action regarding any potential suicide victims who may walk their halls every day. It would be extremely beneficial to require all schools to provide suicide prevention programs that include schoolwide screenings for depression and suicidal tendencies, as well as suicide education programs for both the students and the staff. This is so because the screenings bring attention to those at risk of suicide who may not have reached out for help themselves, and the education programs alert both the students and staff about the severity of the matter as well as signs to look for in those

The study was interesting information on suicide behavior and how it remains an issue among citizens of the United States. According to the “National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (2007), it was the tenth leading cause of death, approximately 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in a single year in 2007, with 11 attempted suicides per death. In the first few months following hospital discharge, even within the first week, inpatients are drastically more likely to re-attempt suicide. The adjusted risk ratio for completed suicide within the first week following inpatient discharge is a 102-fold and 246-fold increase for men and women, respectively, compared to those who have never been hospitalized.” (NIMH, 2007) (Zeng, R. et al., 2015)

As observed by the Journal of American College Health and Rivero, E.M. et al (2014), “90% of all individuals who die by suicide … have a diagnosable psychiatric condition … [and] although approximately 1,100 college students die by suicide each year, fewer than 20% of students … were receiving mental health treatment.” The journal goes on to state that those who were receiving professional treatment were less likely to attempt suicide, along with the students who had a strong support group of family and friends. By implementing a program designed to intervene and provide aid before a suicide attempt can be made, the hopes of a positive outcome and may increase the amount of students who succeed and graduate from college.

Suicide is now considered a public health problem, not just an individual problem” (Meyers and

Warranting the execution of an evaluation is not practical reality for all programs, policies, organizations, as it is imperative for the evaluator to assess all factors. More specifically, “The temptation to evaluate everything may be compelling in an idealistic sense, but it ignores many practical realities” (Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen, 2011, p. 259. Ones’ ability to identify appropriate opportunities requires essential skillsets, knowledge, and the ability to analyze each condition. In today’s society the primary drive behind an evaluation is due to a mandated funding source, thus seeking accountability regarding public funded programs (Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen, 2011). Identifying the purpose of the evaluation is often times vague, requiring the evaluator to examine significant materials pertaining to the stakeholders, as well as properly identifying objectives and expectancies held by the stakeholders (Fitzpatrick, Sanders & Worthen, 2011). This process requests the evaluator to review the purpose of the program, the users, the program, program theory, relevant resources, and appropriate contextual issues.

The state of New Jersey has the lowest suicide rates out of all fifty states with a suicide rate of “8.8 deaths per 100,000 people” (Center for Disease Control). While New Jersey continues to have the lowest self-harm rates in the United States, they have a prevention plan that is quite unique. For the youth in need of immediate mental help, New Jersey has opened up screening programs that are located in hospitals. These programs are