Six in ten of Americans impacted by suicide
October 25, 2024
Source: Public Perceptions of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Survey Results, Harris Poll, October, 2024
A new Harris Poll of over 4,300 adults finds that 61% of Americans know someone who has thought about, attempted, or died by suicide. A quarter of respondents said that they had thought about suicide, and 10% said that they had attempted suicide. Suicide takes over 48,000 lives per year, and is the eleventh leading cause of death in the US.
The national suicide and crisis hotline (9-8-8), is now two years old, and has taken calls from 10 million people. This hotline is in the process of adding geolocation, and most callers report that it was helpful. One-third (33%) of survey respondents said they were familiar with 988, and 63% said they had heard of it. Seventy-one percent said they would feel comfortable calling a mental health hotline.
Almost one-third of respondents (31%) said that seeing a mental health professional is “something that most people could not afford” (down from 36% in 2018). A quarter of respondents (25%) reported that a barrier to them reaching out to crisis services was fear of out-of-pocket costs.
Implications for employers:
Suicide and suicide attempts have enormous and long-lasting impacts on the workforce.
Employers should have a critical incident response plan to address stress and employee concerns in case there is a suicide in or adjacent to the work community.
Employers can be sure supervisors and employees are aware of Employee Assistance Programs, which generally offer a limited number of counseling sessions with no out-of-pocket costs.
Employers can also offer comprehensive mental health benefits with good network access.
Many employers sponsor training in Mental Health First Aid.
Employers should create physical barriers to prevent suicide attempts at the workplace where appropriate and can post signs with notice of crisis hotlines such as 988.