VA suicide report released Sept. 19.

2022-09-22T06:57:29-04:00

Veteran deaths by suicide dropped for the second straight year in 2020, according to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) report released Sept. 19. However, a new privately funded study also released this month indicated that the actual number of such deaths may be higher.

VA’s 2022 National Veteran Suicide Annual Report found that Veteran deaths by suicide dropped by 307 in 2019 and 343 in 2020, the largest decrease registered since 2001, and the first evaluation of data during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This year’s report shows real progress but there is still so much work to be done,” VA Secretary Denis McDonough said in a statement. “One Veteran suicide is one too many, and VA will continue to work with our federal, state, local and private partners to tackle this problem and save Veterans’ lives.”

Although the 2020 numbers are down, VA still counted 6,146 Veteran deaths by suicide. At a rate of 31.7 deaths per 100,000 Veterans, suicide is the second leading cause of Veteran deaths. A total of 44,298 U.S. adults, including Veterans, died by suicide in 2020.

The VA report, counting deaths by suicide involving a firearm, suffocation, poisoning and other methods, found that from 2018 to 2020, the age- and sex-adjusted suicide rate among Veterans fell by 9.7%. The average number of Veteran suicides per day was 16.8 in 2020, down from 18.6 per day in 2018, officials said. VA reported that COVID-19 didn’t impact trends in deaths by suicide among Veterans.

VA’s report relies on information from the VA/Department of Defense (DOD) Mortality Data Repository, which includes national death certificate data through 2020. This year, VA for the first time released state-level suicide findings along with national results.

“The state data sheets are a critical tool to help VA and state-level partners design and execute the most effective suicide prevention strategies,” VA officials said. (Access the drop-down menu of state data sheets at https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/suicide_prevention/data.asp.)

Group argues VA could be underreporting scope of the problem

A separate interim analysis of five years of Veteran and civilian death data from eight states, published by the group America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP), found that the rate of Veteran death by suicide — including fatalities related to self-harm and other nonnatural causes — could be 2.4 times higher than VA previously reported.

AWP’s “Operation Deep Dive” study was conducted by the University of Alabama and Duke University with initial funding from the Bristol Meyers Squibb Foundation. It looked at suicide-related data among male and female Veterans between the ages of 18 and 64 in Alabama, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana and Oregon.

Unlike VA, the AWP study looked at both Veteran deaths by suicide and self-injury mortality (SIM), which includes fatal incidents such as accidental gunshot, asphyxiation, drowning, overdose, suicide by law enforcement and high-speed, single-driver accidents.

Looking at this broader data set during 2014 and 2018, AWP study authors argued that VA may have undercounted by 37% the death rate of Veterans (or FSMs, former service members).

“If these eight states collectively represented the national rate,” the AWP report said, “the combined death rate would be at least 44 FSMs per day which is 2.4 times higher than the VA suicide rate.”

AWP argued among other things that VA should include SIM in all analyses of Veterans’ death. These and other improvements in death reporting could help national, state, local and community policy makers and service providers better identify which Veterans are at risk of death by suicide and other means of fatal self-harm.

VA’s main priority is to end Veterans deaths by suicide

VA officials said in the report that ending Veteran deaths by suicide remains its top clinical priority. To move closer to this goal, VA also announced these initiatives:

• Released $52 million in suicide prevention grants to 80 community-based organizations (CBOs) located in 43 states, the District of Columbia and American Samoa (https://news.va.gov/108884/grant-funding-community-suicide-prevention).

• Awarded $250,000 to 30 finalists and $100,000 to 10 promising programs under its Mission Daybreak challenge, which engages Veterans, CBOs, tech companies, startups and universities in developing novel solutions to prevent Veteran suicides (https://www.missiondaybreak.net).

• Established a new 988 (then press 1) number for reaching the Veterans Crisis Line.

• Proposed a rule to waive or reduce VA copayments for Veterans at risk of suicide (https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5751).

• Launched a public outreach campaign to promote firearms safety (https://www.va.gov/reach/lethal-means), and another called “Don’t Wait. Reach Out.” to raise awareness on how to prevent Veteran suicide (https://www.va.gov/REACH).

Learn more

• Read VA’s news release on the 2022 annual report: https://rly.pt/3RXglEt

• Visit the VA report webpage for highlights, the full report, answers to questions and more: https://rly.pt/3QXNU84

• Learn about VA’s S.A.V.E. training: https://rly.pt/S-A-V-E

• Get the interim findings from the America’s Warrior Partnership report: https://rly.pt/3SGhkJl

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans Crisis Line at any time by dialing 988 and then pressing 1, chatting online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat or texting 838255.

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Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Sep 22 at 2022 7:02 AM

2022-09-22T07:02:00-04:00

Thank you for the news report, be far better if there were no suicides RallyPoint Shared Content

Response by Cpl Vic Burk made Sep 22 at 2022 7:02 AM

2022-09-22T07:02:06-04:00

Veteran suicides going down is great. Let's hope the trend continues.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Sep 22 at 2022 7:05 AM

2022-09-22T07:05:23-04:00

As usual conflicting data...VA says one thing and another privately funded study says the opposite.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2022 7:27 AM

2022-09-22T07:27:15-04:00

I hope the VA's figures are correct, but something tells me otherwise. Hope I'm wrong.

Response by 2LT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 22 at 2022 9:47 AM

2022-09-22T09:47:14-04:00

One is too many. I pray for those who are struggling.

Response by PO2 Marty Sharpe made Sep 22 at 2022 2:15 PM

2022-09-22T14:15:13-04:00

I wonder how many suicides after WWII, Korea, and VietNam?

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Sep 22 at 2022 7:43 PM

2022-09-22T19:43:51-04:00

Signs of hope and progress on this very difficult issue…glad to see it

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 23 at 2022 12:02 PM

2022-09-23T12:02:34-04:00

Latest study I saw said the actual rate was probably twice what the VA said it was which I'm more inclined to believe.

Via observation the VA causes many of the suicides.

Response by PO3 John Clausen made Sep 24 at 2022 1:06 PM

2022-09-24T13:06:01-04:00

The story implies they thankfully went down in 2019 & 2020... could it have something to do with a pro-military President being in the White House?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 26 at 2022 12:47 PM

2022-09-26T12:47:14-04:00

What is amazing is I have helped many people with PTSD heal significantly, but the VA does not want to know how I achieve it. I recently helped someone who had severe PTSD for 60 years who realized the VA could not help him, but I did it in six months. The circumstances are appalling. The VA acts like it knows everything.

Response by Sgt William "Jim" Evans made Sep 27 at 2022 1:06 PM

2022-09-27T13:06:01-04:00

One death is too many! There needs to be more help other than counselling. Not all of the issues that lead to suicide are mental. Medical, Financial, Spiritual, Personal Relationship... just to name a few.
Please don't think that I'm downplaying counselling. I am simply stating that we need much better resources surrounding the other areas and we need a single, strong place to go to in order to find that information! Something outside of the Veteran's Administration!
Just a few ideas...
- Medical: $0 out of pocket for vets fighting substance abuse
0% interest loans for major medical issues
- Financial: Free, non-biased financial counselling
LOW interest debt consolidation loans through credit unions (NFCU, etc)
- Spiritual: Network of spiritual advisors to speak with, separated by religious belief
Communities within spiritual groups that cater to Veterans
- Personal: FREE marriage counselling outside of VA
Childcare classes for Veterans outside of VA

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Sep 28 at 2022 1:41 PM

2022-09-28T13:41:23-04:00

thanks for sharing

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2022 3:53 PM

2022-09-28T15:53:17-04:00

Every death is one too many. Make sure you talk about your feelings and to encourage your Soldiers, friends, family, even your children to express themselves when they are frustrated or have concerns. I've witnessed the devastation of suicide first hand and I still vividly remember how a unit I supported was rocked to its core.

Response by SN Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 28 at 2022 11:08 PM

2022-09-28T23:08:02-04:00

This is not acceptable, dammit! It needs to become 0%. Until then, we have a lot of work to do.

Response by SGT Milton Pridemore made Nov 14 at 2022 6:28 AM

2022-11-14T06:28:58-05:00

I don't see why anyone posts these lies here. The VA has lied in the past and has been caught doing so. Is there any proof this report is even near normal?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 14 at 2023 7:16 PM

2023-01-14T19:16:44-05:00

thanks for the info.