DOH Sponsors 2019 Suicide Prevention Statewide Conference

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch (EMSIPSB), in partnership with the Prevent Suicide Hawai‘i Task Force (PSHTF), reports the 2019 Prevent Suicide Hawai‘i Statewide Conference: Hope, Help, Healing, which will be held on April 11 and 12, 2019, at the Ala Moana Hotel at 410 Atkinson Drive in Honolulu.

Suicide Prevention Statewide Conference. Wikimedia Image.

The conference will bring together the community of survivors, advocates, educators, service providers, policymakers and health professionals around the issue of suicide prevention. Local and national experts in suicide prevention will present on a wide range of topics, from increasing awareness of suicide prevention to enhancing skills to respond to those at risk, including those who have survived the loss of a loved one. Dr. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will be the national keynote speaker. Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for attendees.

For more information and to register for the conference, go online.

The Hawai‘i Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will also host and sponsor a pre-conference workshop, Suicide Bereavement Clinician Training, on Wednesday, April 10, at the Ala Moana Hotel. This workshop will provide a focused overview of the impact suicide has on survivors, and the clinical and support responses needed after a suicide occurs. CEUs are available.

For information and to register for the pre-conference clinician training, visit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention website.

In Hawai‘i, it is estimated that one person dies by suicide every two days and suicide is the most common cause of fatal injuries among residents. Over a five-year period from 2013 to 2017, 926 Hawai‘i residents died from suicide—25% of a total of 3,695 fatal injuries—outpacing car crashes, homicide, unintentional poisoning and drowning as a cause of death.

Following an increasing trend of suicide deaths nationally, Hawai‘i has also seen a rising rate of suicide death over the last 10 years, as well as an increasing trend in the annual number of non-fatal suicide attempts. For every completed suicide, there are twice as many hospitalizations and three times as many emergency department visits.