CFS Experts Support Florida’s Efforts to Prevent Suicide

During 2004, Florida had 2,382 confirmed deaths by suicide. That's basically an entire student body from a Tampa Bay area high school. For those of us who have witnessed high school in session, and have seen the many cars and school busses transporting student after student, it is a staggering thought to realize that this number of individuals chose such a tragic ending to their lives - 2,382 suicides in 365 days.

For the families and friends left behind, a central question remains – What could have been done to prevent such a tragic ending? Of course there are no easy answers, but perhaps if more help had been available, if less stigma was related to mental illness, if someone had recognized the warning signs because they knew the warning signs, these individuals would still be alive leading productive lives.

Last year the Executive Office of the Governor released the 2005- 2010 Florida Suicide Prevention Strategy. In his letter introducing the Strategy, Governor Bush called for "an integrated and long-term approach to lowering the state’s suicide rate by creating a partnership between government and citizen interest groups that can jointly collate and disseminate information in a timely manner, train and field qualified responders, and direct services to those at risk."

One such partnership combines the resources of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Beth Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in memory of Elizabeth (Beth) Ann Harrington and dedicated to reducing the suicide rate in Florida through education and awareness. In 2002, DCF provided funding for the Beth Foundation to develop the Florida Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Program. This program trains a network of "Gatekeepers" to recognize warning signs, respond appropriately and refer people for help. These networks include teachers, school nurses, school personnel, police officers, mental health care providers, and emergency health care personnel.

Steve Roggenbaum from the University of South Florida Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Child and Family Studies, was contracted in 2004 to design and manage the evaluation component of the Gatekeeper Program to measure its impact. Steve will also conduct evaluations for this year’s new initiative, Become Educated To Help, supported by additional state funding to Beth Foundation’s CEO Pam Harrington.

Under this initiative, Roggenbaum will continue to track the growth of the Gatekeeper Training Program and examine behavioral change that follows the training. Pre and post training surveys will be administered to Gatekeepers to assess the immediate impact of knowledge gained as well as potential willingness to intervene. A three-month follow-up survey will be administered to assess knowledge retention, document current helping attitudes, and gain information regarding any Gatekeeper intervention that has occurred.

In addition to supporting expansion of Gatekeeper Training, the Become Educated To Help initiative has designed a public awareness campaign to increase awareness of suicide as a public health and mental health issue. The goal is to reduce stigma for help-seeking behavior and also to educate community members about the 1-800-273-TALK (8255) resource. Roggenbaum and staff will investigate the impact of this initiative by tracking the number of calls to 1-800-273-TALK and the proportion of calls related to suicide for designated counties. They will then compare data on calls for target counties to a comparison county for the same time periods. The evaluation team will also collaborate with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that manages the 1-800-273 TALK hotline and local hotline sites. The public awareness campaign will involve work with the local community suicide prevention groups from two Florida counties (Alachua County and Pasco County).

"It would be great to find that local suicide prevention coalitions in conjunction with an advocacy group such as the Beth Foundation could dramatically increase the awareness and utilization of an existing resource without major expense," said Roggenbaum. "This is a great example of grassroots organizations working hard to make an impact in the local community."

Since he began working at the Institute in 1983, Roggenbaum's primary areas of research have focused on child welfare and suicide prevention. He has most recently served as team member on a project funded by the Institute for Child Health Policy at Nova Southeastern University through a Florida Drug Free Communities Program Award, in which he helped to develop and disseminate The Youth Suicide Prevention School-based Guide. The Guide serves as a tool that provides a framework for schools to assess their existing or proposed suicide prevention efforts and provides resources and information that school administrators can use to enhance or add to their existing program.

For additional information, contact Steve Roggenbaum at 813-974-6149.