Can we figure out how to reduce deaths due to suicide? Elizabeth Tracey reports
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In 2023, more than 50,000 Americans died by suicide, continuing a grim trend upward that has been underway for years. Mandy Cohen, CDC director, said at a recent Johns Hopkins talk that the agency is analyzing all the data and making recommendations based on it.
Cohen: Suicide and gun violence are linked. We know half of suicides are because of guns and if you look in males it's even higher. We talk about safe gun storage and that we can make sure folks know there are resources in the moment of crisis for suicide, things like 988,24 hour seven day a week place you can call if you are in crisis, you can text as well. These are the kinds of combination of things, if we do the gun safety work, we do the suicide prevention work, we can absolutely save lives in every community across the country. :32
Cohen says analysis reveals the particular populations at risk and points the way to targeted interventions to help. At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.