When it comes to advancing any kind of health policy, including suicide prevention policies, private sector has always been one of the major players and key stakeholders. De Wolf & Toebes (2016) state, “Private sector participation in health care is not a new phenomenon. The involvement of private actors in the provision of health care—whether as direct providers of services (e.g., physicians, pharmacies, and hospitals) or as the providers or manufacturers of materials and technologies used in health care provision—has a long history. These actors include (multi)national corporations, nongovernmental organizations, private institutions (including charitable bodies and other nonprofit entities), and private individuals, such as general practitioners and consultants” (1). Private sector has the ability to influence lawmakers at local, state, and national levels by raising awareness of issues, organizing advocacy events, meeting with legislators, and promoting House and State Bills they support. Longest (2014) indicated that private sector health policies play a crucial role in how society views and pursues health (2).
Some of the organizations that promote suicide awareness are American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health (CFBH), First Responder Lifeline by American Addiction Centers, National Fallen Firefighter Foundation, Law Enforcement Suicide Prevention and Awareness by International Association of Chiefs of Police, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, the Code Green Campaign, Blue H.E.L.P., National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and American Association of Suicidology.
I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) State Capitol Day earlier this semester. AFSP is a “voluntary health organization that gives those affected by suicide a nationwide community empowered by research, education and advocacy to take action against this leading cause of death” (3). AFSP is dedicated to saving lives and helping those affected by suicide. They create a culture of mental health awareness by funding scientific research, educating the public about mental health and suicide prevention, advocating for public policies in mental health and suicide prevention, and supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide in our mission (3).
The two bills advocated for by AFSP during the Suicide Prevention Advocacy Day were HB 2072 and HB 2321. HB 2072 would provide loan forgiveness for licensed mental health professionals, which would encourage new graduates to pursue careers in mental health and to provide services to underserved communities. HB 2321 would create a legal process for Severe Threat Orders of Protection and prohibit a person at risk for suicide from having a firearm in his or her possession for a period of up to one year. AFSP organized a meeting with Senator Rick Gray who was appreciative of the opportunity to hear about the bills that could impact first responder suicide rates in Arizona. Senator Gray expressed his support for the two Bills advocated for by AFSP. It felt truly empowering to be surrounded by so many other people who care about suicide prevention and want to make a difference.
References
- De Wolf, A., & Toebes, B. (2016). Assessing private sector involvement in health care and universal health coverage in light of the right to health. Health and Human Rights Journal, 18 (2). Retrieved from https://www.hhrjournal.org/2016/12/assessing-private-sector-involvement-in-health-care-and-universal-health-coverage-in-light-of-the-right-to-health/
2. Longest, B. (2014). Health policymaking in the United States (5th ed.). Health Administration Press, Chicago, IL.
3. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (2020). About AFSP: Mission. Retrieved from https://afsp.org/about-afsp/
Natalia's Blog 
Natalia-
Bill 2072 is an interesting bill which you mention in your blog this week. In your blog (#5) you mentioned that this bill would allow for a wide forgiveness of loans for many professionals such as: psychologist, psychiatrist, advanced practice nurses, counselors, social workers, and other type of mental health specialists. One part which stood out to me was the fact that the person receiving the funds has to work in a corrections facility for five years. This unfortunately would not allow for this individual to be available to a wide population unless they were incarcerated. This would leave out critical populations such as youth, military (past and present), and first responders which is a primary concern of your blogs. Do I understand this correctly? Where does this bill stand as of today? From your previous post it looks like it was passed in the house and then the appropriations committee. What are the next steps?
I had not heard of many of those community support organizations you blogged about to help first responders with suicide prevention. The organization that I am familiar with is 22 Too Many. This organization specializes in assisting Veterans from the Armed Forces and or the family of veterans. The 20 as the title mentions is the number of veterans who commit suicide every day. Some of the cited reasons for these suicides include post traumatic stress disorder, adjusting to non-military roles in private and professional life, and the negative perception of needing mental help fostered by the military community. Funds raised by this organization are through races, runs, or walks. Members who participate in this run wear the soldier’s photo on their backs much like a running bib. Public awareness of military suicide, honoring the service member and families are the organizations underlying’s mission (22toomany.com).
References
22toomany.com (2020). Retrieved from https://22toomany.com/about
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Your blog topic is so important. I didn’t realize the depth of issues with suicide in first responders. I read an article specifically discussing firefighters. Out of 1,027 U.S. firefighters surveyed, 46.8% reported serious suicidal ideation and 15.5% reported having made a suicide attempt at some point during their firefighter tenures (Stanley et al., 2019). Almost half of all firefighters had serious suicidal ideation. It’s no wonder there are so many private sectors regarding this topic of suicide in first responders. You mentioned quite a few private sectors that “promoted suicide awareness”. I was wondering how many of them have State or Federal Capital Days like you said the AFSP did. That sounds amazing, and I bet it was quite a learning experience for you! Very cool!
Additionally, I was not well informed of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AMSP). I went to their website and found they have one chapter located in Arizona, which is in Phoenix. I’m not sure the best way to help these first responders, but they need help. The AMSP (2020) has a lot of information on suicide prevention from education, to providing phone numbers and clinics for people with suicidal thoughts, depression, PTSD, etc., providing videos interviewing other people who have tried to commit suicide, etc. I wonder if screening first responders for PTSD and depression would be a good idea, maybe they are already doing that?
Reference
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (2020). Retrieved from https://afsp.org/
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Stanley, I., Boffa, J., Tran, J., Schmidt, N., Joiner, T., & Vujanovic, A. (2019). Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and mindfulness facets in relation to suicide risk among firefighters. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 75(4), 696-709. doi: 10.1002/jclp.22748
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I am glad to see that there are innovative thoughts towards the health of first responders especially on the topic of suicide prevention. Especially during this current COVID-19 crisis the need for new innovative ways to take care of our first responders is more and more crucial. The two bills you bring up are very appealing for us that are going into mental health professions. I have heard of the HB 2072 and love the idea and I will more than likely take part in that loan forgiveness program when I am done with the DNP program. The second bill HB 2321 causes me some concern. If a firearm is taken from a first responder who uses a firearm in their daily business (i.e. Police, DEA, FBI) it would possibly put their livelihoods at risk. I think they would have to be very careful with a Bill like this at the risk of these first responders not reporting suicidality to their chain of command in fear of losing their weapon. My worry is the fact that they might conceal their suicidality for themselves and others who they are working with. I like the thought of removing their means of suicide by removing their weapon, but would have to be a very careful process as to no alienate the member and drive them into hiding their symptoms.
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