Researchers working to reduce risk of suicide in Gulf Coast states

A team of researchers from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health is examining potential protective factors and corresponding policy interventions that could reduce the risk of suicide in communities across the five U.S. states along the Gulf Coast—Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas—following exposure to a disaster.

Dr. Hannah Rochford, an assistant professor in health policy and management at the school, is the principal investigator for the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine research grant. The research team includes three additional members of the school's faculty: epidemiologist Dr. Daikwon Han, U.S. Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness Director Dr. Jason Moats, and Center for Health and Nature Director Dr. Jay Maddock. Researchers from the Urban Institute will also be involved in the research study.

Suicide was among the top 10 leading causes of death in the U.S. Gulf Coast states for every age group between 5 and 64 in 2020. The suicide rate for the region's states climbed between 6 to 30 percent from 2000 to 2015, which is substantially greater than other regions of the nation.

This three-year study will analyze the intersection between intense natural disasters and adverse mental health consequences, including suicide, in affected communities.

"We understand that the kind of physical environmental changes that we're experiencing due to the climate shifts are increasing the intensity of different types of disasters such as flooding and hurricanes, as well as more gradual climate threats like severe heat and droughts, which could increase mental health issues," Rochford said. "We also are increasingly understanding that in addition to the kind of acute damage that these different types of events bring about, there are lasting consequences for the mental health and well-being of people who experience a disaster."

The study is unique in that it will apply a public health lens to analyze mental health and suicide data.

"Our project team thought it could be more helpful to identify protective factors and opportunities to implement these rather than focusing exclusively on the risk factors that contribute to the problem," Rochford said.

"Can we start looking for solutions? The project acknowledges the reality that disasters are going to happen in our Gulf communities, likely with increasing intensity. Without action, really harmful health outcomes due to disasters will also increase. What are the tools that we can equip our communities with to minimize that risk?"

Phases of design

The research design involves six phases:

• Conduct independent interviews with key stakeholders from six to eight Gulf Coast communities who have different expertise about their disaster recovery experiences and the challenges their communities face.
• Apply geospatial methods on disaster declaration data to precisely identify the communities with the biggest disaster burden and, as a result, the most need for preventive efforts in relation to suicide.
• Apply geospatial methods on data indicating adverse mental health and suicide burden to identify the communities facing these issues to the greatest extent.
• Apply geospatial methods on data indicating environmental sources of community resilience that promote mental health, such as parks and green spaces, that encourage access to mental and behavioral health services, and that curb access to catalysts for harm (such as alcohol and firearms).
• Use quasi-experimental designs to understand how protective factors shape a community's mental health and suicide outcomes post-disaster. In combination with interview insights, these findings will help identify the combination of protective factors with the greatest capacity to prevent adverse mental health and suicide in Gulf communities post-disaster.
• Re-engage interviewed community stakeholders to share study findings and a corresponding menu of prevention strategies. Translate community stakeholder preferences for prevention strategies into policy briefs so community members can advocate for related change with their policymakers.

Ultimately, the research team hopes to offer policymakers as well as Gulf Coast communities a different way to think about their suicide prevention efforts.

"We don't often think of suicide as a public health issue, but we should because it's preventable," Rochford said. "As public health professionals, our purpose is to act in a way that prevents death and suffering. It is our hope that this project empowers stakeholders across sectors to do the same in the wake of disaster."

Provided by Texas A&M University