Ueda-Ballmer Speaks with USA Today About CDC Report on Suicide Risk
September 12, 2024
USA Today
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that people with health insurance, higher income and internet access may be less likely to die by suicide. Counties with lower levels of health insurance coverage, broadband internet access and household income had higher suicide rates.
The CDC report helps shift the narrative about suicide risk, which is often framed as a concern exclusive to people with mental illness rather than factors leading to crisis, according to Michiko Ueda-Ballmer, associate professor of public administration and international affairs.
“Everybody has a risk of suicide,” says Ueda-Ballmer. “That also means that everybody basically should think about suicide prevention as their...business.”
Ueda-Ballmer, who was not involved in the CDC study, contributed to a recent Lancet Public Health series examining social factors around suicide risk. The CDC findings, she says, offer insight into “contextual factors” that form a person’s life, not just individual risks with mental health.
Read more in the USA Today article, “Higher suicide rates tied to lack of basics: Internet, insurance, income, CDC says.”
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