Study Measures Mental Health Services’ Impact on Lowering Suicide Attempts

Greater access to mental health services reduces the likelihood of individuals attempting suicide by an average of nearly 18 percentage points, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in The Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research. Researchers compared data on the number of suicide attempts and the number of mental health service providers for every county in the nation. They concluded that policies aimed at expanding mental health services in areas with limited access could further reduce suicide risk. Access the abstract.

Impact of Mental Health Treatment on Suicide Attempts

Chandler McClellan 1, Mir M Ali 2, Ryan Mutter 3

Affiliations

PMID: 32514809
DOI: 10.1007/s11414-020-09714-4

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of mental health treatment on suicide attempts. While prior work demonstrates the effectiveness of mental health treatment at reducing suicide risk, few studies examine nationally representative populations or use broad measures of access to mental health services. A methodological problem can arise in studies of mental health treatment and suicidal behavior because a suicide attempt can result in the use of more mental health services. Using nationally representative survey data combined with national estimates of provider availability, this paper employs a methodological correction to address that potential problem of reverse causation. This paper uses measures of the density of health care providers in an area as statistical instruments for use of mental health treatment in an analysis of the impact of mental health treatment on suicide attempts. This study finds that mental health treatment significantly reduces suicide attempts.

Keywords: Access to care; Mental health treatment; Suicide.