Authors: Charles Katz, Ph.D., Jordan Batchelor, Ph.D., and Taylor Cox, Ph.D. Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, Arizona State University
Apache, Greenlee, and Graham counties have a problem with suicide in general and veteran suicide specifically. Substantial attention to these matters is needed if we are going to make a difference in the lives of those who made a difference for all of us. We work for the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, a research unit within Arizona State University, and are responsible for administering the Arizona Violent Death Reporting System (AZ-VDRS), which is sponsored by the CDC. We collect data from death certificates, medical examiner reports, and police reports to monitor trends in homicide and suicide throughout the state. Since 2015, when we started to collect data, a few things have become evident.
- Eastern Arizona has a problem with suicide. The suicide rate for the state is about 20.11 per 100,000 residents (all ages). This compares to 33.7 for Apache, 30.6 for Greenlee, and 16.1 for Graham counties.
- The suicide problem is especially pronounced for veterans. On average, about 268 veterans kill themselves each year in Arizona, for a rate of 55.01 per 100,000 compared to 22 for non-veteran adults. They represent about 20% of all suicide victims in the state. Compared to the state average, suicide rates among veterans are about 4 times higher in Greenlee County, 3.5 times higher in Apache County, and 2.5 times higher in Graham County.
3. The suicide problem among veterans is concentrated among older residents. Whereas about 33% of Arizona suicide victims are 18-34 years old, about 13% of veteran suicide victims are that age. Conversely, roughly 32% of all veteran suicide victims are 75 and older, compared to 6.6% for non-veterans.
There are several steps we can take to start to address the problem. First, we need to know more about these issues. The raw number of suicides in the eastern part of the state is small, and every piece of information we collect is vital if we are to have a complete understanding of the problem. While we are currently working with Apache, Graham, and Greenlee Sheriff’s Departments to participate in the AZ-VDRS program, they are not yet represented in our data. We hope to include them soon. Including information from eastern Arizona is essential if we are to effectively and efficiently respond to the suicide problem in the region.
Second, we need to increase awareness that the suicide problem among veterans is concentrated among older adults. Older residents often get overlooked on matters related to suicide prevention and intervention. Being mindful that elderly veterans are at particularly high risk for suicide is vital. We encourage everyone who is interested in learning more about this issue to visit our veteran data dashboard, which provides detailed information about veteran suicide in the state and your community. It can be found at https://www.azvdrs.org/dashboard.
Last, most veteran suicides in Apache, Graham, and Greenlee counties are committed with a firearm (73%). Precautions should be taken by using gun locks or removing guns in the homes of elderly veterans (as well as all others) who are exhibiting risk factors for suicide. These are hard conversations to have with our loved ones, but they are necessary.
