AAACEUs Blog

Suicide Prevention - The NIMH's Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit

Suicide is a global public health problem. Worldwide, suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals 10 - 24 years old. According to the CDC, in 2015, more than 5,900 young individuals in the US committed suicide - even more common are suicide attempts and suicidal thoughts.

As healthcare professionals, we play a huge role in potential prevention. It is reported that the majority of people who die by suicide have visited a healthcare provider within months of committing suicide. Considering this statistic, there is a huge opportunity to screen for potential suicide risk.

Starting in 2008, the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH) led a multi-site study to develop a simple, straight-forward tool to help identify young patients at risk of suicide. This toolkit is called the the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit.

The NIMH has broken out the ASQ toolkit by medical setting. To view the entire toolkit and other prevention resources, please click on the following link:

NIMH's Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit

In the face of this growing problem, we wanted to highlight this excellent resource.