The public health approach to suicide prevention, as reflected in the National Strategy, presents a rational, organized way to marshal prevention efforts and ensure that they are effective. In contrast with the clinical medical approach, which explores the history and health conditions that could lead to suicide in a single individual, the public health approaches focuses on identifying patterns of suicide and suicidal behavior throughout a group or population. Its five basic steps are:

1. Defining the problem
   Collecting information and data about the problem and populations that exhibit suicide and suicidal behaviors.

2. Identifying causes: risk and protective factors
   Knowing those factors which place people at a greater potential risk for suicide prevention services or risk for suicide or which seem to protect them from suicidal behavior is key to identifying prevention efforts.

3. Developing and testing interventions
   Before implementing programs it is important to first carefully design and evaluate interventions. While this may take more time and effort than other approaches, it is important to ensure that programs are safe, practical, and ethical.

4. Implementing interventions
   Strategies and action steps must be specifically defined for the needs of each state’s particular issues and must be realistic, measurable, and easy to replicate for sustainability.

5. Evaluating interventions' effectiveness An ideal program or intervention is one that has been evaluated and found to be effective.

(L to R) Fee Habtes, Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Injury and Violence Prevention Chief; Jennifer Martin, Injury Prevention Specialist; Dr. Mohit Bansal, Graduate Public Health Intern.