The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) is issuing an alert to Health Care providers to raise awareness of a recent increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts among females and to encourage providers to use evidence-based suicide prevention resources and practices.
The Kansas Syndromic Surveillance Program (KSSP) monitors emergency department (ED) data in near real-time. KSSP is currently capturing over 98% of total ED visits within 72 hours of the visit itself.
During routine surveillance of emergency department visit (EDV) data, KDHE detected a spike for suicide attempts among female patients in July 2023. A spike alert identifies when the number of emergency department visits for suicide attempts is at a level greater than two standard deviations above the previous three-month average.
In the month of July 2023, 162 suicide-related events occurred in Kansas among females. This is greater than two standard deviations above the previous 3-month mean of 126.7 (Table 1).
![](https://salina311.com/content/images/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-24-at-12.43.17-PM.png)
July had the highest number of female suicide attempt ED visits for 2023 thus far, and was higher than all other years for the same month (Figure 1). There was a 37.3% increase in female suicide attempt EDVs compared to June.
![](https://salina311.com/content/images/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-24-at-12.44.19-PM.png)
When looking at trends by age group using the spike detection parameters, females ages 19-44 years had significant spikes (Table 3).
![](https://salina311.com/content/images/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-24-at-12.44.51-PM.png)
Mechanism of injury could be extracted for 83.3% of female suicide attempt visits. Nearly 60% of females presented to the ED for poisoning or overdose (Table 4).
![](https://salina311.com/content/images/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-24-at-12.45.24-PM.png)
KDHE is urging healthcare providers to become familiar with warning signs for suicide, suicide prevention practices, and community resources.
There are a number of resources available throughout the state of Kansas and nationally for suicide prevention:
- Individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at Lifeline Chat
- The National Maternal Health Hotline (1-833-852-6262) provides free, 24/7 support before, during and after pregnancy for new moms who may feel overwhelmed, sad, anxious or exhausted. For more information, visit: mchb.hrsa.gov/national-maternal-mental-health-hotline
- Find your local community mental health center for local resources and locations to refer patients when suicide risk is detected: acmhck.org/resources/cmhc-map/
The Kansas Perinatal Access line offers free provider-to-provider behavioral health care consulation, training, and care coordination for all Kansas physicians serving pregnant or postpartum women: kansasmch.org/psychiatric-consultation-care-coordination.asp