WASHINGTON (Aug. 11, 2023)--Suicide deaths reached a record high in the United States last year, according to provisional data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC data shows that nearly 50,000 people died as a result of intentional self-harm in 2022 or about 15 deaths for every 100,000 people.
The data also suggest that suicide is now the 11th leading cause of death in the US and experts say that firearms were involved in more than half of all suicides in 2022.
The George Washington University has experts available to talk about a variety of aspects of the mental health crisis, including high rates of suicide, and mental health issues among vulnerable populations. To interview a GW expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].
Lorenzo Norris is an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Chief Wellness Officer at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is also medical director of the GW Resiliency & Well-being Center.
Rhonda Schwindt, associate professor of nursing, is a nationally certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner with an active clinical practice specializing in LGBTQIA+ health, trauma, and treatment-resistant mood disorders. Schwindt has a funded program of research focused on improving health outcomes for the LGBTQIA+ community. She can discuss this work and the mental and physical health disparities in the LGBTQ population as well as the external factors that she says impacts mental health and contributes to concerns of increased anxiety, depression and suicide risks among the LGBTQIA+ population.
WATCH: Prof. Schwindt discusses mental health care for the LGBTQIA+ community in this video.
Carol Lang is an assistant professor of nursing and a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Lang co-leads the GW School of Nursing’s Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program, which offers registered nurses the opportunity to expand their scope of practice to include the care of individuals, families and groups with psychiatric and mental health needs.
Kathleen Roch is a professor of prevention and community health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She can comment on some of the mental health impacts on vulnerable populations. Her research shows that detention or deportation of a family member puts Latino youth at risk of suicidal thoughts and other mental health harms.