No access
Brief Reports
Published Online: 6 March 2023

Trends in Crisis Hotline Call Rates and Suicide Mortality in the United States

Sasikiran Kandula, M.S. [email protected], Johnathan Higgins, B.S., Alena Goldstein, M.P.H., Madelyn S. Gould, Ph.D., M.P.H., Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H., Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D., and Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D.Authors Info & Affiliations
Publication: Psychiatric Services
Volume 74, Number 9
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20220199
Get Access

Abstract

Objective:

Utilization of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Lifeline; formerly called the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) was analyzed in relation to suicide deaths in U.S. states between 2007 and 2020 to identify states with potential unmet need for mental health crisis hotline services.

Methods:

Annual state call rates were calculated from calls routed to the Lifeline during the 2007–2020 period (N=13.6 million). Annual state suicide mortality rates (standardized) were calculated from suicide deaths reported to the National Vital Statistics System (2007–2020 cumulative deaths=588,122). Call rate ratio (CRR) and mortality rate ratio (MRR) were estimated by state and year.

Results:

Sixteen U.S. states demonstrated a consistently high MRR and a low CRR, suggesting high suicide burden and relatively low Lifeline use. Heterogeneity in state CRRs decreased over time.

Conclusions:

Prioritizing states with a high MRR and a low CRR for messaging and outreach regarding the availability of the Lifeline can ensure more equitable, need-based access to this critical resource.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Get Access

Supplementary Material

File (appi.ps.20220199.ds001.pdf)
File (appi.ps.20220199.ds002.htm)

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services
Psychiatric Services
Volume 74 • Number 9 • September 01, 2023
Pages: 978 - 981
PubMed: 36872897

History

Received: 9 April 2022
Revision received: 19 October 2022
Revision received: 25 November 2022
Accepted: 1 December 2022
Published online: 6 March 2023
Published in print: September 01, 2023

Keywords

  1. Suicide and self-destructive behavior
  2. Crisis intervention
  3. Public health
  4. Community mental health services

Authors

Affiliations

Sasikiran Kandula, M.S. [email protected]
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Johnathan Higgins, B.S.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Alena Goldstein, M.P.H.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Madelyn S. Gould, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Mark Olfson, M.D., M.P.H.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Katherine M. Keyes, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author
Jeffrey Shaman, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences (Kandula, Shaman), Department of Epidemiology (Gould, Olfson, Keyes), and Department of Psychiatry (Gould, Olfson), Columbia University, New York City; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Vibrant Emotional Health, New York City (Higgins, Goldstein).
View all articles by this author

Notes

Send correspondence to Mr. Kandula ([email protected]).

Competing Interests

Dr. Gould has received research support from Vibrant Emotional Health and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Dr. Gould has also received funding to conduct research evaluations of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Dr. Keyes has been financially compensated as an expert witness in litigation. Dr. Shaman has received research funding from Pfizer, Salesforce, and Regeneron and has also been a consultant for BNI. Dr. Shaman and Columbia University declare partial ownership of SK Analytics. The other authors report no financial relationships with commercial interests.

Funding Information

This work was funded by NIMH grant R01-MH-121410 to Drs. Keyes and Shaman. The funder had no role in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the report; and the decision to submit the report for publication.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

There are no citations for this item

View Options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login
Item saved, go to cart
Purchase Options

Purchase this article to access the full text.

PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services

PPV Articles - Psychiatric Services

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

View options

PDF/ePub

View PDF/ePub

Full Text

View Full Text

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share