VA Health Care: Efforts Needed to Ensure Effective Use and Appropriate Staffing of Suicide Prevention Teams

Abstract

Compared to the general population, veterans suffer a disproportionately higher rate of suicide. VA has stated that suicide prevention is the agency's top clinical priority. At its local medical facilities, VHA employs suicide prevention teams, which include coordinators - staff with a full-time commitment to suicide prevention activities - and case managers. The Support for Suicide Prevention Coordinators Act included a provision for GAO to review, among other issues, the responsibilities and workload of suicide prevention coordinators. This report examines how VHA (1) uses local suicide prevention teams, and (2) helps determine facilities' suicide prevention staffing needs. To do this work, GAO analyzed team staffing data, reviewed VHA policies, and interviewed OMHSP officials and team staff from five medical facilities. The facilities were selected for variation in composition of suicide prevention teams, geographic location, and total number of patients, among other factors.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2021
Accession Number
AD1149484

Entities

People

  • Debra A. Draper
  • Janina Austin
  • Julie T. Stewart
  • Miranda Richard

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Employment
  • Geographic Regions
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • Health Care Facilities
  • Health Services
  • Law
  • Medical Personnel
  • Mental Health
  • Outpatient Clinics
  • Predictive Modeling
  • Risk Factors
  • Standards
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Veterans Health

Fields of Study

  • Medicine

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.