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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Allison Barlow, MPH, MA¹, Mariddie Craig², N. Katy Aday, MSW³, Francene Larzelere-Hinton¹, Elena Varipatis Baker, MPH, MSW¹, Kathleen Norton, MA¹, Britta Mullany, PhD¹, and John Walkup, MD¹. (1) Center for American Indian Health, Johns Hopkins University, 621 North Washington Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-955-6931, abarlow@jhsph.edu, (2) White Mountain Apache Tribe, P.O. Box 700, Whiteriver, AZ 85941, (3) Whiteriver Service Unit, P O Box 860, Whiteriver, AZ 85941

Background: Suicide is a leading health disparity among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth and young adults. Rates of suicidal behavior vary markedly across tribes. Since 1990, the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) has experienced rates of suicide completion among youth (<24 years of age) 10 times greater than the U.S. rate and 5 times greater than the Al/AN rate. In 2001, WMAT implemented a community-wide suicide surveillance system to collect data related to age, gender, location, methods and potential triggers for suicidal ideation, attempts and completions. Methods: A common suicide registry form is used by all tribal agencies to report suicidal events to the Suicide Prevention Coalition. Data are entered on a weekly basis into an electronic database. Data including age, gender, methods, and potential triggers for suicidal events are being analyzed for 2002-2005. Results: Confirmed completions include: 6 in 2002; 4 in 2003; 2 in 2004; and 6 in 2005. There were 393 confirmed suicidal events in 2005. Data for the total number and type of suicidal events for 2002-2004 are being analyzed and will be reported. Conclusions: Preliminary results suggest youth ages 15-24 are at highest risk for completion, while 10-19-year-olds are at highest risk for suicidal events. A tribally mandated suicide registry provides important public health information. More in-depth assessments of youth identified via this registry may be applied to the design of community-based suicide prevention interventions.

Learning Objectives:

• -Identify patterns of suicide attempts and completions on the White Mountain Apache tribe between 2001 and 2005
• -Describe the use of a tribally-mandated suicide registry form used to collect epidemiologic data on suicide attempts and completions on the White Mountain Apache reservation

Keywords: American Indians, Suicide

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered