Suicide is a growing public health problem in the United States. From 2001 to 2016, ED visit rates for nonfatal self-harm, a common risk factor for suicide, increased 42%. To improve public health surveillance of suicide-related problems, including SI and SA, the Data and Surveillance Task Force within the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention recommended the use of real-time data from hospital ED visits. The collection and use of real-time ED visit data on SI and SA could support a more targeted and timely public health response to prevent suicide. Therefore, this investigation aimed to monitor ED visits for SI or SA and to identify temporal, demographic, and geographic patterns using data from CDC's National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP).
Objective: To describe epidemiological characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits related to suicidal ideation (SI) or suicidal attempt (SA) using syndromic surveillance data.