Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Government of Virginia Country Resources Suicide Prevention Virginia Legislation/regulation

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Description

This report describes current and proposed efforts by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), as well as other suicide prevention partners, to reduce suicide in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The report utilizes data from the VDH Virginia Violent Death Reporting System (VVDRS) and Virginia Hospital Information (VHI) to quantify the problem of suicide in the Commonwealth, including identifying areas of high suicide burden and risk factors for self-harm. The goals and objectives described here represent the consensus of the lead agencies as well as suicide prevention stakeholders from other government agencies, non-governmental organizations, community partners, and private citizens.
A central tenet of this plan is that suicide is preventable, and this core belief should be adopted throughout the Commonwealth. This report recognizes that risk and protective factors for suicide vary over the lifespan and that some groups have particularly high suicide risks that warrant targeted intervention planning, including active military and veterans, persons with psychiatric and substance use disorders, adolescents, and older adults. The high-risk groups are identified in the 2012 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. This plan is also intended to enhance coordination of care and related organizational and stakeholder efforts around preventing suicide. Finally, the recommendations of this report focus on the use of evidence-based and evidence-informed approaches to reduce self-harm behaviors and suicide risk.

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