There are two major components in the field of Public
Health: prevention and promotion. Public health advocates prevent the public
from harm and/or sickness and promote healthy living. Since emotional support
is extremely important to an individuals overall health, our group chose to
focus on the promotion of mental health. We placed our sticker on the National
Suicide Hotline informational advertisement on the back of a James A. Haley
Veteran’s Hospital Mobile Outreach Clinic. The clinic is currently located in
the rear of the James A Haley Veteran’s Hospital.
Although the advertisement is located on the back of the
Mobile Outreach Clinic, it is not exclusively directed to veterans but to all
members of the public in need of help. The hotline is available twenty-four hours
a day and seven days a week. They offer a wide range of support from
talking, texting, and online chatting. There are crisis counselors that are
bilingual, able to support veterans, able to support minors as young as three
years old, and able to support friends and family.
In 2010, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention placed
suicide as the 10th highest cause of preventable premature deaths. Part of
suicide’s high ranking is because it affects people from all genders, ages,
races, and/or social economic status. Over the past few years, there have
been many strides in the promotion of preventing suicide such as World Suicide
Prevention Day, which is September 9th and coincides with National Suicide
Prevention week, whish is from September 9th thru 15th.
For more information about the National Suicide Hotline:
1-800 273-TALK(8255)
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Location of
James A Haley VA Hospital
!300 Bruce B Downs Boulevard
(813) 972 2000
Reference List:
The American Foundation of Suicide
Prevention. (2010). Facts and Figures. Retrieved From
By: Nicholas, Toni, Shakira, and Vi
Great job Vi, Nicholas, Toni and Shakira!
ReplyDeleteI not only found your post interesting but also enjoyed reading it. Committing suicide is one bold unpleasant step some people take to free themselves from the mental or physical agony they are going through. It is an extremely difficult and reluctant decision an individual makes in his/her life. At times even the least likeliest people end up ending their lives. A friend of friend I knew unfortunately killed herself. She was really young, intelligent and very cheerful at the same time. Hence her this action came as a dreadful shock to everybody who knew her.
I believe the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is definitely a great measure taken from the Public Health perspective as it not only aids people of all age groups but also the variety in which help is provided makes people in need comfortable just when they need it the most. I really wish more awareness of this hotline prevents the number of suicides and helps the nation as a whole.
This topic is a great example of public health in action. Honestly it is one that I had never thought of before. Sadly, I do feel that the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is grossly underused. Suicide has gained a lot of attention in the past few months due to the increasing number of teens and solders committing suicide. I have been thankful not to lose a family member or friend to suicide; however I have dealt with friends who were at risk. One routinely overlooked fact about suicide is that people are more at risk to commit suicide if a member of their family had committed suicide. In all the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is a great public health initiative to promote comprehensive wellness.
ReplyDeleteThe placement of your sticker on the National Suicide Prevention Hotline was a great choice. Although the audience for you sticker might not be a largely diverse group, due to its location on a veterans' clinic, the intent to promote healthy living is a major aspect of public health. Emotional health is a component of healthy living, and providing resources for individuals to seek help with their emotional turmoil could essentially prevent the loss of lives. By promoting healthy living and preventing suicide the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is an advocate for public health, and therefore an excellent location to declare "This is Public Health".
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree with your post. Public health is about prevention and promotion, therefore helping promote a healthier mental state is a great example of public health. Suicide is a great issue not only to teens but also to any age group, gender, or race. Many people that are experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts are in denial, therefore finding a place where they could get help is a key in preventing these deaths. However I think suicide hotlines are not very popular due to people's lack of knowledge of its availability. It needs to be promoted especially to those that are at great risk of experiencing stress and depression, such as with high school and college students. By placing "This is Public Health" on the back of a James A. Haley Veteran’s Hospital Mobile Outreach Clinic, you are helping advocate the prevention of suice, so great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting post because I never thought that prevention suicide was a public health issue. Just as everyone else mentioned, public health is about prevention and promotion, so if we can find ways to end suicides in every race or ethnicity we can actually make a major difference. This particular blog post shows a great first step to helping us to overcome the battle with suicides in all groups. Suicide Prevention should be promoted to the younger population because more of suicides today are happening in the younger population. All in all, this was a great post and hopefully we will receive more outreach so that we can solve this problem.
ReplyDeleteYou guys definitely get two thumbs up for this post. Suicide would have nebr crossed my mind as a public health issue. It certainly relates to public healt's motto on prevention and promotion. As a society I think we should make this a open topic disscussion. Especially For those who are thinking about it and have taken actions towards it.I commend you all for bringing this topic to the for front.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I actually have worked for a Suicide Hotline myself a few months back. This is probably one of the best public services. When I talked to people they were on the verge of killing themselves and it is really amazing how just a few words of encouragement and a plan of action can really turn around a person's life. If anyone is interested in becoming a suicide hotline operator, you can contact The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. There, they will train you to take calls and it is really a rewarding experience.
ReplyDelete