Oklahoma veterans and active-duty military personnel are killing themselves at twice the rate of civilians, despite increased efforts to address the problem.
The 2011 suicide rate for soldiers was about 44 per 100,000 population, according to an Oklahoma Watch analysis of Oklahoma State Department of Health data. This rate includes active-duty military as well as veterans from the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Gulf War, Vietnam, Korea and World War II. The civilian rate for people over the age of 18 was about 22 per 100,000.
In 2011, 141 of the state's 684 suicides were veterans, according to state Health Department records.
The veteran suicide rate in Oklahoma is down from a peak of about 46 in 2008, but researchers said that year had increased suicides due to the recession. The rate dropped to about 39 in 2009 and has since climbed back up.
The rates were calculated by analyzing death certificates, which include military status. The state doesn't differentiate between active-duty personnel and veterans, but it appears likely that most are veterans based on age groups at risk for suicide. The 2011 figures are the most recent data available that can be compared with population numbers.
The increased numbers and rates of suicides come at a time when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has received budget increases for mental health services, and suicide risk for service members has stirred an ongoing national discussion.
The Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act of 2007 aims to decrease suicides by authorizing a national campaign to increase mental health awareness, education, counseling and suicide-prevention research. The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services recently allocated $500,000 in new funding for suicide prevention programs, including veterans outreach.
Searching for reasons
Nailing down the reason why military service members commit suicide is difficult. A common assumption is that soldiers have been traumatized by combat experience or repeated deployments. But a recent study funded by the Department of Defense shows that combat deployment didn't have a significant impact on suicide risk. Instead, mental illnesses and alcohol and drug abuse were more common suicide indicators.
Trying to understand why a person commits suicide is sometimes impossible, particularly if the person leaves no message behind. Family members often are left wondering whether a simple conversation or health referral would have made a difference.
Steve Buck, deputy commissioner of the state mental health department, said the state has implemented what are considered to be the best strategies to prevent suicide deaths. But not every area of the state has equal access to prevention programs or methods.
Some areas might have access to community health clinics staffed by mental health professionals, while others might have access to family doctors trained in identifying symptoms of potential suicide victims, Buck said.
Buck said he was confident the state could get the numbers down, but doing so would require more money to spread effective treatments to every part of the state. It also would require greater public education to reduce the stigma of talking about and treating mental illness and suicide.
"If we get to the point to where we value helping people address depression at the same level that we value reducing their use of tobacco, we are going to start making a lot of headway," Buck said. "Mental health in many ways is physical health."
One reason for the increase in suicides has been older veterans observing the experiences of soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, said retired Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, Oklahoma secretary of military and veterans affairs. These older veterans are in high suicide-risk age groups. Seeing younger soldiers experience the horrors of war and experience post-combat trauma opens old wounds, she said.
In Oklahoma, the demographic group most at risk for suicide consists of white men between the ages of 40 and 60, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increased number of suicides in the state could be attributed in part to the large number of white veterans reaching that age bracket.
Question, persuade, refer
Contributing factors could include repeated deployments and separation from families and friends, said Mike Brose, director of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa. These experiences cause some military service members to withdraw, abuse alcohol and other substances, and neglect their responsibilities, Brose said.
Families who see suicidal indicators such as these should ask military family members if they are thinking of hurting themselves, persuade them to seek help and refer them to an appropriate agency, he said.
This QPR method - question, persuade and refer - empowers everyone to be on the lookout for people thinking of suicide, Brose said.
"There will never be enough health professionals to stem the tide," he said. "We need to educate the general public to get them the confidence and tools in the toolbox to intervene with their loved ones."
Original Print Headline: Suicide rate of Oklahoma's veterans, soldiers a concern
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