Originally Presented on Thursday, November 18, 2021: 1-12 p.m. ET
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted numerous social determinants of health, from individuals’ income and job security to their access to primary and behavioral healthcare. These stressful life events consistently identify as risk factors for suicide, and the uncertainty of the pandemic is exacerbating mental health symptoms associated with suicide risk. It is crucial for frontline providers of all disciplines to understand the increased risk of suicide during and after the pandemic and how to effectively identify and intervene with patients at risk of suicide in both in-person and telehealth visits.
The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved has developed a new fact sheet addressing this topic, and this accompanying webinar outlined this and other resources to help providers and staff at health centers and other facilities understand COVID-19’s impact on suicide prevention, detailed essential steps for identifying patients at risk for suicide, assessing risk, and responding with evidenced-based interventions, and shared unique considerations in providing care to patients at risk for suicide via telehealth.
Learning objectives:
- Detail COVID-19’s impact on social determinants of health and suicidality, and why providers and staff at health centers and other facilities can play important roles in prevention.
- Share practical steps to address suicide risk in patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Describe unique considerations in providing care to patients at risk for suicide via telemedicine.
Want to be informed about other upcoming webinars on health equity for underserved populations? Join our mailing list!
Presenters
- Dr. Virna Little, PSyD, LCSW-r, SAP, CCM, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Concert Health, Co-Founder of Zero Overdose
- Dr. Bart Andrews, PhD, Vice President of Clinical Practice and Evaluation of Behavioral Health Response, Faculty Member of Zero Suicide Institute
More Resources on Suicide Prevention and COVID-19
Using the Zero Suicide framework as a foundation and with the generous support of the Centene Corporation, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved created the Suicide Safer Care curriculum to train primary care providers and their teams on skills for suicide risk assessment, evidence-based interventions, referral and transition when needed, and changing the culture of addressing suicide risk across clinical practice. Learn more about the curriculum and useful resources for primary care providers, including pediatric and adult suicide prevention toolkits. You may also browse our COVID-19 Resources page for more information on how the pandemic has impacted communities served by health centers.
