Suicide Awareness
Key studies have determined that some health care professions are at increased risk of suicide compared to the public, including pharmacists. According to a study published in JAPhA, suicide rates among pharmacists in the U.S. are 20 per 100,000, which is greater than the general population of 12 per 100,000. These increased rates underscore a larger issue related to mental health challenges in health care environments.
Need Help? Here’s Who to Contact
Call 988 – The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or Text HOME to 741741 – Crisis Textline
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) developed the 988 Partner Toolkit with resources for partners to use and share information about the 988 Lifeline with this alignment in mind.
Pharmacy Workforce Suicide Awareness Day
Recognized annually on September 20th, APhA and many other pharmacy organizations and associations have convened to establish a Pharmacy Workforce Suicide Awareness Day. This aligns with many pharmacy organizations’ related policies to expand public awareness of this serious issue and to advocate for pharmacists, student pharmacists, pharmacy residents, and pharmacy technicians by providing resources to mitigate mental health and well-being issues that may lead to thoughts of suicide.
Resources and Tools
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)
AFSP is a voluntary health organization with educational resources about mental health and suicide prevention, advocacy efforts for public policies in mental health and suicide prevention and supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide.
More information can be found here.
APhA Education Programs
These APhA member only online CPE activities focus on crisis intervention and how to manage stress and burnout.
Crisis Intervention: A Pharmacist’s Story
This course features a mental health psychiatric clinical pharmacy specialist, who shares real-life experiences and discusses strategies for keeping patients safe, should you need to intervene in a crisis situation.
For Your Health: Managing Chronic Stress to Prevent Burnout
This course will illustrate the differences between, and causes of, chronic stress and burnout and to provide actionable, evidence-based recommendations for mitigating the effects of chronic stress.
CDC Suicide Prevention Resources
The CDC has a wealth of resources and information including a social media toolkit, which includes sample social media graphics and messages, suicide data and statistics for presentations, and suicide prevention tools for public health professionals.
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View the CDC Social Media Resources here.
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View CDC Suicide Data and Statistics here.
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View the CDC Suicide Prevention Tools for Public Health Professionals here.
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View the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention here.
Mental Health First Aid
APhA has partnered with the National Council for Mental Wellbeing to offer a 4-hour, online training program designed to enhance your professional skills and enable you to make a meaningful difference in the lives of your patients. Click the applicable link below to learn more and register.
Learn about Mental Health First Aid from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing here.
Register for APhA’s Mental Health First Aid Course:
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
NAMI has crisis resources for individuals experiencing mental health crises, as well as social media images and graphics for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
Learn more here.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
NIMH has a variety of free brochures and shareable resources for suicide prevention, including frequently asked questions, warning signs, and action steps for helping someone in pain.
Learn about NIMH here.
Psychology Today – Find a Therapist
Psychology Today has a free tool to search for a verified therapist near you. It allows you to filter by insurance, gender, types of therapy, and more.
Find a therapist here.
QPR Training
QPR stands for Question, Persuade, and Refer — the 3 simple steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. People trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to ask questions and persuade and refer someone to seek help.
Learn more about QPR here.