Comprehensive Suicide Prevention

At a glance

CDC’s Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program (CSP) funds 24 programs to implement and evaluate a comprehensive public health approach to suicide prevention, with a special focus on populations that are disproportionately affected by suicide.

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Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Means All of the Above

Overview

A comprehensive approach to suicide prevention includes:

  • Strong leadership to convene and connect multi-sectoral partnerships
  • Using data to:
    • identify disproportionately affected populations with increased risk of suicide
    • understand contributors to suicide and suicidal behaviors
    • track trends in suicide deaths and suicidal behavior
  • Identifying and assessing gaps in existing programs in the jurisdiction
  • Implementing and evaluating complementary strategies with the best available evidence from the Suicide Prevention Resource for Action
  • Developing, implementing, and evaluating a communication and dissemination plan to communicate trends, progress, successes, and lessons learned to partners

A key goal of this program is a 10% reduction in suicide and suicide attempts among populations that are disproportionately affected by suicide. These populations include veterans, tribal populations, rural communities, LGBTQ, youth/young adults, and others.

Through CSP cooperative agreements, CDC aims to build a national program to reach the nation's goal of reducing suicide by 20% by 2025.

To support this program, CDC is dedicating approximately $21 million per year.

Funded programs

September 2023:

  • Arkansas Department of Health*
  • Bexar County Hospital District (Texas)*
  • Illinois Department of Health*
  • Ohio Department of Health*
  • Puerto Rico Department of Health*
  • Rhode Island Department of Health*
  • University of Nebraska*

September 2022:

  • Florida Department of Health*
  • Georgia Department of Public Health*
  • Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene (New York)*
  • Oregon Health Authority/Public Health Division*
  • University of North Dakota*
  • Wisconsin Department of Health Services*

September 2021:

  • Louisiana Department of Health*
  • Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention*

September 2020:

  • California Department of Public Health*
  • Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
  • Connecticut Department of Public Health
  • Massachusetts Department of Public Health
  • Michigan Department of Health and Human Services*
  • North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services*
  • Tennessee Department of Health*
  • University of Pittsburgh
  • Vermont Department of Health*

*Enhancing CSP with syndromic surveillance‎

20 CSP programs also use funds to support emergency department syndromic surveillance of nonfatal suicide-related outcomes (for example, suicide attempts and suicidal ideation). Collecting these near real-time data can help states rapidly track and respond to changing patterns in suicidal behavior.


This surveillance work builds upon CDC's previously funded Emergency Department Surveillance of Nonfatal Suicide-Related Outcomes program.

Find out more about what CDC is doing to prevent suicide. Visit CDC's Suicide Prevention webpage.