Translating Data into Discovery: Analysis of 10 Years of CDC Data of Mortality Indicates Level of Attainment of Education as a Suicide Risk Factor in USA.
Based on this unique finding of education emerging as a strong and consistent variable in the comprehensive analysis of CDC data over an 11 year period, the authors hypothesize education attainment level segments are the most significant demographic predictor variable of suicide and a systematic approach to targeting continuing educational opportunities to patients with low education attainment levels paired with other high risk segments including but not limited to age, race, ethnicity, marital status and gender.
Developing a zero-suicide culture in a healthcare system requires the application of data driven
quality improvement to identify at risk patients and measure the outcomes of preventative
care to eliminate suicide as a leading cause of death in the United States. Variability in patient
behavior and health care provider observations and assessments lead to subjective measures of risk factors that create data quality issues impeding the ability of healthcare systems to standardize data collection to discern meaningful information from their data.
The news from the Centers for Disease Control shows a striking increase in suicide rates. Among those ages 35 to 64 years old, there is a 28% increase in suicide rates from 1999 to 2010. It holds for males (up 27%), females (up 31%), and across different regions of the country. The peaks
were seen in men in their 50’s and women in their early 60’s. The gender difference continues to show that men die of suicide at three times the rate of women, and suicide is now the 4th cause
of death for that age group.
Soc Behav Res Pract Open J. 2017; 2(1): 1-17. doi: 10.17140/SBRPOJ-2-107
