Skip to main content

Why Me?

 

Module 1: Why Me?

Why pharmacy staff?

Pharmacist having conversation with customer
“I have talked many patients out of suicide and have just known that something was wrong because I’ve been in their shoes.”
-Community Pharmacy Staff Member

Pharmacists are the most accessible health professionals in the United States.7 With training, pharmacy staff can serve as gatekeepers who recognize suicide warning signs and refer individuals for assistance before they attempt suicide.1-6

Pharmacists are well acquainted with suicide—or the threat of suicide—in their practices:

  • A study in North Carolina found that 1 in 5 community pharmacy staff had been asked to advise on a fatal dose of medication.
  • 22% of pharmacy staff had patients request a lethal dose of medication.7
  • 22% of pharmacy staff know a patient who has died by suicide.7
  • Suicide can be prevented.1
  • Pharmacy organizations agree. In 2019:
    • The American Society for Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) board stated that suicide prevention is a pharmacist’s role.
    • The Joint Commission recognized the role of pharmacists in suicide prevention.
 

Medications and suicide

PillsMore than 140 medications are labeled for risk of suicide or have a potential for suicidal behavior. Several medications labeled for potential suicide risk are in the top 200 for highest dispensed volume. These medications include the entire class of antiepileptics, drugs used to treat urinary incontinence, smoking cessation agents, and an antibiotic.8

In 2019, 30% of all suicides were carried out by poisoning, which included prescription overdose drug deaths.9

 

Suicide in the United States

  • Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.11
  • On average, there are 132 suicides per day.11
  • Men die by suicide 3.6x more often than women.11
  • Veterans are 2x more likely to die by suicide than non-veterans.12
  • 74% of medical office visits end with a prescription, meaning that many patients who are at risk of suicide visit pharmacies to pick up their prescriptions before their deaths.13

Click the buttons below if you are interested in learning how suicide rates vary by race/ethnicity or age.

In 2019, the highest U.S. age-adjusted suicide rate was among White Americans (15.67). The second-highest suicide rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives (13.64). Lower rates were observed among Black or African Americans (7.04) and Asians/Pacific Islanders (7.04). Please note that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) records Hispanic origin separately from the primary racial or ethnic groups of White, Black, American Indian or Alaskan Native, and Asian or Pacific Islander, because individuals in all groups may also be Hispanic. For 2019, the overall rate across groups of suicide for non-Hispanics was 15.23, and for Hispanics the rate was 7.24.11

Suicide Rates by Race/Ethnicity
Suicide rates by race

Adapted from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (afsp.org)

The highest rate of suicide is among adults who are 45 to 54 years old. Click the other ages (listed to the right of the graph) to compare rates among the entire population.

Suicide Rates by Age
Adapted from the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention (afsp.org)

Want to learn more? Visit the following:

Resource Website
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) https://afsp.org/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Suicide Prevention		 https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/
Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) https://www.sprc.org/
Veterans Crisis Line https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
  1. Carpenter et al. (2019). Community pharmacy staff interactions with patients who have risk factors or warning signs of suicide. RSAP
  1. Painter NA, Kuo GM, Collins SP et al. Pharmacist training in suicide prevention. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. 2018;58(2):199-204. e2.
  2. Murphy AL, Hillier K, Ataya R et al. A scoping review of community pharmacists and patients at risk of suicide. Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada. 2017;150(6):366-79.
  3. Cates ME, Thomas A-C, Hughes PJ et al. Effects of focused continuing pharmacy education on pharmacists’ attitudes toward suicide prevention. Pharmacy Education. 2017;17.
  4. Lavigne J, King D, Lu N et al. Pharmacist and pharmacy staff knowledge, attitudes and motivation to refer patients for suicide risk assessment: lessons from Operation SAVE. Frontiers in suicide risk New York: Nova Science. 2012195-202.
  5. Coppens E, Van Audenhove C, Iddi S et al. Effectiveness of community facilitator training in improving knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in relation to depression and suicidal behavior: Results of the OSPI-Europe intervention in four European countries. Journal of affective disorders. 2014;165142-50.
  6. Read DR. Development and Evaluation of an Educational Unit for Pharmacists on Suicide Prevention. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. 1978;42(3):313-16.
  1. Carpenter et al. (2019). Community pharmacy staff interactions with patients who have risk factors or warning signs of suicide. RSAP
  1. Carpenter et al. (2019). Community pharmacy staff interactions with patients who have risk factors or warning signs of suicide. RSAP
  1. Painter NA, Kuo GM, Collins SP et al. Pharmacist training in suicide prevention. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. 2018;58(2):199-204. e2.
  1. Carpenter et al. (2019). Community pharmacy staff interactions with patients who have risk factors or warning signs of suicide. RSAP
  1. Lavigne, J. E. (2016). Suicidal ideation and behavior as adverse events of prescribed medications: an update for pharmacists. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 56(2), 203-206.
  1. National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). Accessed: February 2021.https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml
  1. Petrosky E, Ertl A, Sheats KJ, Wilson R, Betz CJ, Blair JM. Surveillance for Violent Deaths—National Violent Death Reporting System, 34 States, Four California Counties, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, 2017. MMWR Surveillance Summary 2020; 69: SS-8: 1-37.
  1. Petrosky E, Ertl A, Sheats KJ, Wilson R, Betz CJ, Blair JM. Surveillance for Violent Deaths—National Violent Death Reporting System, 34 States, Four California Counties, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, 2017. MMWR Surveillance Summary 2020; 69: SS-8: 1-37.
  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide Statistics. Accessed: February 2021. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics
  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide Statistics. Accessed: February 2021. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics
  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide Statistics. Accessed: February 2021. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics
  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide Statistics. Accessed: February 2021. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics
  1. Rui P OT. National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2016 National Summary Tables. Accessed at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/namcs_summary/2016_namcs_web_tables.pdf, November 13, 2019.
  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide Statistics. Accessed: February 2021. https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics
  1. Suicide Prevention (2020, December 22). In Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/