Suicide Prevention Programs Currently Available to US Veterans: A Scoping Review

Abstract

It is widely recognized the high suicide rate among United States (US) veterans is a major ongoing public health problem. Suicide prevention programs that specifically target veterans are varied in their implementation and success rates. A scoping review was conducted to examine what types of suicide prevention programs are currently available for US veterans and their effectiveness. From this scoping review, 361 articles were located from two electronic databases, and 26 suicide prevention programs were located through the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) webpage/electronic resources. Of the 361 peer reviewed articles, 33 were classified as highly relevant and selected for full review, and 22 were identified as needing further review for relevance to the topic or target population. Nineteen VA webpage/electronic resources were classified as highly relevant and selected for full review. After implementing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 28 journal articles and 16 VA webpage/electronic resources were included in this scoping review. Although the scoping review demonstrated there is a wide variety of suicide prevention programs available for US veterans, the review also indicated that (a) suicide prevention programs in use by the VA are not being widely disseminated in the peer-reviewed literature and (b) there is significantly more dissemination on the study of causes of suicidality than programs being implemented to prevent suicidal behavior. As a result, available research suggests additional research should be conducted on suicide prevention programs and more dissemination of current suicide prevention activities should take place.