Walden University Suicide Awareness and Prevention HR4585 Bill Essay

First, H.R. 4585 is the Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act. It is a bill introduced on 10/01/2019 to the 116th Congress (2019-2020), sponsored by Rep. Beyer, Donald S., Jr (D-VA-8). This bill, which aims at preventing suicide in the United States, requires the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop, implement, and evaluate a national media campaign focused on suicide prevention. In addition, the national suicide prevention hotline must be a three-digit, tollfree number (Congress.gov, n.d.). The latest action on this bill is that it was received in the Senate on 09/22/2020 and Read and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Congress.gov, n.d.).

ORDER NOW FOR COMPREHENSIVE, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPERS

According to the CDC fast facts on Violence Prevention, suicide is cited as the 10th leading cause of death in the United States; suicide is responsible for more than 48,000 deaths in 2018 and results in about one death every 11 minutes. Yearly, there is increasing suicide thoughts and attempts by more people. The 2018 data shows that 10.7 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, while 3.3 million made a plan, and 1.4 million actually went on to attempt suicide. (CDC, 2020). These fast facts offer the evidence base to support this proposed H.R. 4585; as noted by CDC, suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities (CDC, n.d.).

In order to successfully prevent suicide, it is ideal to adopt a multi-level approach involving the individual, the relationship, the community and the society as a whole (CDC, n.d.). Preventing suicide involved the reduction of risk factors while promoting those factors that help protect from suicide, this is the aim of suicide prevention, as indicated by the CDC. Some of the strategies offered by the CDC to reduce suicide include: Strengthening economic supports, strengthen access and delivery of suicide care, create protective environments, promote connectedness, teaching coping and problem-solving skills, identify and support people at risk, and lessen harm and prevent future risk. (CDC, 2020).

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2020, April 21). Preventing Suicide. Retrieved April 13, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/fastfact.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/

Congress.gov (n.d.). H.R.4585 – Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/116thcongress/housebill/4585/history?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22hr4585%22%5D%7D&r=1