Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107404

Janae Lane Price, MPH, Department of Public Health, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), 1050 Wishard Blvd. RG 4100, Indianapolis, IN 46202-3443, (317) 278-0337, jdlhoops@aol.com, Gregory K. Steele, DrPH, MPH, Department of Public Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1050 Wishard Blvd. RG 4165, Indianapolis, IN 46202, and David Sprenger, MD, California Area Office, Indian Health Service (IHS), 650 Capitol Mall Suite 7-100, Sacramento, CA 95814.

Suicide rates remain disparate among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations and represent the second-leading cause of death for ages 15-34. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2002 suicide fatalities were incurred at a rate of 74.4 per 100,000 among AI/AN's compared to 10.95 among U.S., all races. These disparities necessitate constant monitoring of the dynamics involved in age, gender, mechanism of injury, geographic location, and the success or failure of a suicide attempt for this population. Currently, suicide surveillance among California AI/AN's is nonexistent. This study uses primary data, 1991 to 2002, from the California Epidemiology and Prevention for Injury Control (EPICenter) in an attempt to further specify the demographics of these injuries. Both fatal and nonfatal data was examined to integrate all possible outcomes of attempted suicide. As demonstrated within other race/ethnicity comparisons, AI/AN males had higher rates of fatal suicides by means of firearm while their female counterparts suffered greater hospitalizations by means of poisoning. The initiation of a surveillance system for the California AI/AN population will provide a benchmark for future assessments of Tribal Health prevention and education programs and will assist in the identification of individuals who are at higher risk of suicide injuries.

Learning Objectives:

• List the top three characteristics of suicide risk among Native Americans in California.
• Identify geographical regions in California with increased incidence of suicide.
• Recognize key differences between suicides and self-inflicted injuries.

Keywords: American Indians, Suicide

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.