2005 Campus-Community Partnerships
Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth:
A Community Partnership for Suicide Prevention
| Awardee: | Dr. Joan Asarnow, Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA NPI Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
| Partner: | The Pasadena Children's Training Society (The Sycamores) |
Abstract:
This proposal aims to 1) improve care for youth who attempt suicide, 2) decrease the risk of repeat attempts, and 3) provide a model academic-community partnership aimed at adapting and implementing evidence based suicide prevention interventions within a community-based organization.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death in the United States for youth aged 10 to 24 years. Roughly 2,000,000 adolescents attempt suicide annually in the United States and these youth are at high-risk for future suicide and suicide attempts, as well as other negative outcomes. Despite the public health significance of this problem, and the fact that suicidal behavior is a major reason for youth psychiatric hospitalization and out of home placement, promising intervention approaches from the research literature have rarely been implemented in community-based settings.
his proposal provides a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between research and practice and improve care and outcomes for youth and families in LA County. We propose to build upon an existing relationship, collaborate to adapt a promising evidence-based intervention for suicidal youth to the needs of youth and families served by our community partner (The Sycamores), and provide a model for addressing this critical public health problem within LA County.
