{"id":66188,"date":"2022-09-29T16:39:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T16:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/09\/29\/va-defends-suicide-prevention-data-says-problem-is-improving\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:25:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:25:27","slug":"va-defends-suicide-prevention-data-says-problem-is-improving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2022\/09\/29\/va-defends-suicide-prevention-data-says-problem-is-improving\/","title":{"rendered":"VA defends suicide prevention data, says problem is improving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/09\/28\/va-to-screen-all-patients-for-toxic-exposure-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\">Veterans Affairs leaders<\/a> are dismissing accusations that they are significantly undercounting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/09\/19\/veterans-suicides-drop-to-lowest-rate-since-2006\/\" target=\"_blank\">suicides among veterans<\/a>, saying that a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/09\/17\/veterans-suicide-rate-may-be-double-federal-estimates-study-suggests\/\" target=\"_blank\">recent critical outside analysis<\/a> relied on problematic comparisons that confused the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, department officials released their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/veterans\/2022\/09\/28\/va-to-screen-all-patients-for-toxic-exposure-issues\/\" target=\"_blank\">annual report on veterans suicide<\/a>, showing a decrease in deaths of nearly 10% from 2018 to 2020 (the latest year for which census data is available).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A total of 6,146 veterans died by suicide in 2020, the lowest total reported by VA since 2006. Despite that positive news, the rate of veterans suicide remains close to 17 deaths a day, and veterans are significantly more likely to die by suicide than their civilian counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2022\/09\/17\/veterans-suicide-rate-may-be-double-federal-estimates-study-suggests\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6829847.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Veterans suicide rate may be double federal estimates, study suggests<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Researchers found problems with how military status is recorded and how drug overdoses are classified.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During testimony before the House Veterans\u2019 Affairs Committee on Thursday, department leaders said they are hopeful that the positive data is the result of years of policy work on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis year\u2019s report shows real progress, but there\u2019s still so much work to be done,\u201d said Dr. Tamara Campbell, acting executive director of VA\u2019s Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. \u201cSuicide is preventable, and each of us have a role to play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Campbell and other VA officials faced questions from lawmakers over whether that positive news was undercut by a report from America\u2019s Warrior Partnership, released two weeks ago, that estimated the suicide rate may be 2.5 times higher than the reported rate, once drug overdoses and misreported accidental deaths are included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWP officials said the goal of their work was not to condemn federal researchers for their estimates but to highlight other areas of concern that need to be factored into suicide prevention policy in coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But VA witnesses at the committee hearing said those numbers don\u2019t fit with the annual, scientific reviews the department conducts each year, and give a misleading impression that the department is overlooking thousands of preventable deaths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMaking distinctions is important in terms of the intervention,\u201d said Dr. Lisa Brenner, director of Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center. \u201cLabeling all deaths by overdose could cause us to provide inappropriate intervention. So, to say that all overdose deaths are suicides could lead us to a level of ineffectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The AWP report is also based on estimates calculated from data provided by eight states, rather than federally reviewed census data for all 50 states and territories. It also includes deaths among Coast Guard members and other groups involved with military service but not classified as Defense Department veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2022\/09\/19\/veterans-suicides-drop-to-lowest-rate-since-2006\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6829847.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Veterans suicides drop to lowest rate since 2006<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">But veterans are still significantly more likely to die by suicide than their civilian peers.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would not be sitting in front of you if I did not have 100% confidence in the data that we present on an annual basis,\u201d said Dr. Matt Miller, VA\u2019s national director of suicide prevention. \u201cThis report represents the fullest and most accurate information that we have on veteran suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jim Lorraine, president of AWP, testified after the VA officials\u2019 remarks and said the group\u2019s findings point towards the need for better monitoring and different kinds of intervention than are currently in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur data reflects that there is still significant work to be done,\u201d he said. \u201cVA must be more open and transparent about their data \u2026 and investigate self-injury mortality further.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AWP officials said they hope to expand their research in coming years. VA officials said they are regularly working to improve their data collection and research, but remain confident in their current methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Veterans in need of emergency counseling can reach the Veterans Crisis line by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255 and selecting option 1 after connecting to reach a VA staffer. In addition, veterans, troops or their family members can also text 838255 or visit <\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/veteranscrisisline.net\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>VeteransCrisisLine.net<\/i><\/a><i> for assistance.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>About 17 veterans die by suicide each day, according to the latest department data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":38550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,22,23,93,12,25,67,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3226],"class_list":["post-66188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"3ZNKLZLLEVBXRK5A22H34AEYAI","arc_canonical_url":"\/veterans\/2022\/09\/29\/va-defends-suicide-prevention-data-says-problem-is-improving\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - 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