Most adults affected by suicide, want more prevention

Nearly all U.S. adults agree that more action can be taken to reduce suicide deaths, with about three-fifths also reporting they have been personally affected by suicide, according to national survey data released Wednesday.

Sixty-one percent of adults said they know someone who has considered, attempted or died by suicide, according to the 2024 Public Perception of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Poll, conducted by The Harris Poll. The biennial survey found that number has consistently risen, from 53% in 2018 to 55% in 2020 and 59% in 2022.

The poll—a joint effort led by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention at EDC and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center—also found that 25% of U.S. adults have thought about or attempted suicide themselves. Adults who have experienced thoughts of suicide are also increasingly open to speaking to others, with 82% open to this in 2024—a 9% increase over 2018.

Nearly all adults—93%—said they believe more action can be taken to prevent and reduce suicide deaths, with a majority pointing to greater access to mental health care, increased education for health care professionals and more education for the general public about suicide prevention initiatives.

“The public sees it and is reporting it as a major public health issue,” said Colleen Carr, director of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a public-private partnership, during a call with reporters. She stressed the need to “make sure that that desire for this to be a top priority is aligned with education, with outreach and the needed policy and system change that comes along with that, which is really what a lot of these findings are asking for.”

988 hotline

Congress and the Biden administration have taken on a number of new initiatives to increase public awareness and availability of suicide prevention resources, including the launch of the 988 suicide hotline, creating a national strategy plan and finalizing a mental health parity rule.

But the public’s perception and awareness of these endeavors is mixed.

The free national three-digit crisis text and voice suicide hotline, 988, was launched in 2022 following the passage of a bipartisan 2020 law. Since 2022, the number of adults who have heard of the lifeline has increased from 57% to 63%.

But only 33% said they were familiar with 988’s purpose in 2022, illustrating the challenges of increasing public awareness.

“There are campaigns getting started around the country,” said Shelby Rowe, executive director of the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

The group has worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on eight projects to determine what the best messengers are for educating different communities.

“I think until we got the results from that formative research project, SAMHSA was really hesitant to really invest in national blasts of ‘how do we advertise this’ without knowing what type of messaging is going to resonate with those that we really want to reach the most,” she said.

Native American and Alaska Native survey respondents were most likely to say they are likely to use 988, at 82%. They are also most likely to have personally considered suicide, at 42% compared to 22% among white respondents.

LGBTQ individuals reported being more aware of 988 than non-LGBTQ individuals, but they were less likely to feel comfortable contacting the hotline.

Survey respondents who were skeptical of using 988 cited concerns about out-of-pocket costs, lack of insurance and limited local services, as well as worries about how loved ones may perceive them seeking crisis help.

Only 15% had used a mental health hotline, but 71% said they would be comfortable contacting one if needed.

“The fact that 15% have reached out is really extraordinary and shows that people are willing to,” said Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “We don’t expect 100% of people to reach out.”

There was less awareness of other initiatives.

In April, the Department of Health and Human Services released the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, a 10-year plan to curb deaths and reach underserved populations.

The survey found that only 45% had even heard of the strategy, with 23% saying they are at least somewhat familiar with what it is.

The results also showed concerns about mental health parity, with 77% of adults stating that mental health is equally important to physical health. But 49% said that the health care system treats physical health as more important than mental health.

Insurers are limited in how they can provide less-favorable mental health benefits compared to medical and surgical coverage through the implementation of 1996 and 2008 mental health parity laws. Mental health advocates have criticized enforcement of these laws.

In September, the Biden administration finalized a rule that would strengthen some enforcement mechanisms against health plans that skirt federal law.

The survey was conducted in July among 4,394 adults.

2024 CQ-Roll Call. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.