American journal of preventive medicine
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Research on associations between substances of abuse and suicidal behaviors is a large, complex area. Herein, alcohol, the most commonly abused intoxicant worldwide, is examined with a focus on two topics: (1) acute use of alcohol (AUA) shortly prior to suicidal behavior; and (2) more chronic alcohol use disorder (AUD) and suicidal behavior. First, a brief summary of what is known about AUA, AUD, and suicidal behavior is provided. ⋯ Our focus is on clinical intervention strategies for individuals at risk for suicidal behavior that use alcohol or have developed AUD. We also focus on applied research that may directly lead to practical prevention efforts. Although clinical interventions are important components of a comprehensive suicide prevention strategy, they should be complemented with primary prevention efforts.
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Some primary care physicians choose not to provide cervical cancer screening. ⋯ The perception that patients benefit from cervical cancer screening administered by gynecologists may deter screening in primary care settings, resulting in missed opportunities to offer screening to women who are never or rarely screened.
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Psychotherapeutic interventions targeting suicidal thoughts and behaviors are essential for reducing suicide attempts and deaths by suicide. To determine whether specific psychotherapies are efficacious in preventing suicide and suicide-related behaviors, it is necessary to rigorously evaluate therapies using RCTs. ⋯ Thus, further research employing increased methodologic rigor is needed to improve psychotherapeutic suicide prevention efforts. The aims of this paper are to briefly review the state of the science for psychotherapeutic interventions for suicide prevention, discuss gaps and methodologic limitations of the extant literature, and suggest next steps for improving future studies.
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Describing the characteristics and patterns of suicidal behavior is an essential component in developing successful prevention efforts. The Data and Surveillance Task Force (DSTF) of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention was charged with making recommendations for improving national data systems for public health surveillance of suicide-related problems, including suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and deaths due to suicide. ⋯ Some of the DSTF recommendations are potentially achievable in the short term (<1-3 years) within existing data systems, whereas others involve more extensive changes and will require longer-term efforts (4-10 years). Implementing these recommendations would assist in the development of a national coordinated program of fatal and nonfatal suicide surveillance to facilitate evidence-based action to reduce the incidence of suicide and suicidal behavior in all populations.