INJURY AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION (IVP) BRANCH

Suicide Prevention

Youth Suicide Prevention Projects

The CDPH’s Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) is administering two new youth suicide prevention projects as part of the CalHHS-sponsored Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI).

Office of Suicide Prevention Social Media Shareables

Please join us in raising awareness around suicide and suicide prevention. These shareables have been created and optimized for posting on your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. You may feel free to share them on your social media, websites, emails and more.

California Health and Human Services (Cal-HHS) Agency – Youth Mental Health Resources

Check out these youth mental health resources available to support youth as well as their parents, families and teachers. Now featuring two new digital mental health apps to support youth, young adults, and families.

New EpiCenter Dashboard

EpiCenter has been redesigned as an interactive tool for viewing California data on injuries that resulted in death, hospitalization or an emergency department (ED) visit through 2021.

Learn More

Suicide is a major public health concern in California that can have both immediate and long-term impacts on individuals, families and entire communities. Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission’s “Striving for Zero: California’s Strategic Plan for Suicide Prevention 2020–2025 (PDF, 4MB)” define suicide as a public health issue and a self-directed injurious form of violence.

Suicide is a leading cause of death

Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide attempt is when someone harms themselves with any intent to end their life, but they do not die as a result of their actions.

Many factors can increase the risk for suicide or protect against it. Suicide is connected to other forms of injury and violence. For example, people who have experienced violence, including child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence have a higher suicide risk. Being connected to family and community support and having easy access to health care can decrease suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

PDF Icon Self-Directed Violence Surveillance (PDF, 1.35MB)

PDF Icon Preventing Multiple Forms of Violence (PDF, 0.7MB)

What is the Public Health Role in Suicide Prevention?

Public health recognizes that violence, including suicide, is preventable and takes a primary prevention approach, working "upstream" to address underlying causes to prevent violence from happening in the first place. Both the California Departments of Public’s Health (CDPH) Comprehensive Suicide Prevention Program (CSP) and Office of Suicide Prevention (OSP) use a public health approach to prevent suicides by partnering across multiple sectors, supporting and coordinating state and local suicide prevention activities and providing data and technical assistance to support community-based prevention programs.