Suicide Prevention Tools & Resources

NAPNAP Mental Health Resources

NAPNAP Partners’ parent organization, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, provides a wealth of information and resources on suicide prevention and mental health on its website:

Mental Health Facts

Behavioral and Mental Health Resources
 

Key Actions You Can Take

  • Familiarize yourself with the National Strategy and its recommendations, and support local initiatives that align with the National Strategy's goals.
  • Explore the AAP’s Blueprint for Youth Suicide Prevention to better equip yourself with strategies to promote equitable interventions and practical approaches for implementing suicide prevention.
  • Share information with your families and community about the 988 Lifeline, including its Spanish-language services and new texting functionality.
  • Contribute significantly to creating inclusive and nurturing spaces for all youth, irrespective of their personal identity, by helping to ensure youth feel valued, protected, and empowered to thrive. Initiatives and organizations, such as the Trevor Project, continue to play powerful roles in preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ populations.
  • Encourage schools/workplaces to incorporate suicide prevention training or connect them with resources like the CDC’s What Works in Schools and the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention’s After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools.
     

PedsCESM Courses

JPHC CE: Preventing Suicide Through Lethal Means Restriction in Pediatric Care - This article explores the data and practice evidence for lethal means restriction and counseling, focusing on clinical strategies and policy changes to reduce access to lethal means. Emphasis is given to how pediatric providers speak with parents about the importance of restricting access when developing a safety plan.

What to Know and What to Do: Teenage Sleep Disturbances and Suicidality - There is a critical link between sleep disturbances and increased suicidality in adolescents, highlighting the complex interplay between sleep deprivation, circadian disruption and mental health. This presentation aims to provide pediatric providers with a deeper understanding of sleep-wake cycles in teens and offer practical interventions, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, to improve sleep hygiene and mitigate safety risks in teenagers with mental health concerns.

Lethal Means Reduction: Strategies for Family Conversations and Action - Rates of self-inflicted harm and suicidal thoughts are rising in children and adolescents, with the choice of lethal methods significantly affecting outcomes. This presentation aims to equip pediatric-focused APRNs with actionable toolkits for reducing lethal methods, combining evidence-based approaches with collective expertise. It covers common youth suicide methods, initiating discussions on limiting access to such means and forming partnerships with public health, law enforcement and businesses for safer storage promotion.

NAPNAP Cares Course Collection – NAPNAP Cares was developed in response to the pediatric mental health crisis in the United States.Taught by experienced member experts who will discuss the evaluation, diagnostic decision making, and initial- and ongoing- management of a variety of mental health conditions and health promotion and anticipatory guidance.