CDC Publishes Suicide Prevention Communication Campaign Playbook

Closing out Mental Health Awareness Month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new resource for planning suicide prevention campaigns.  The playbook includes:

  • Key Audience: Tools for identifying specific populations at higher risk and their networks of influence.
  • Campaign Development: Steps to design effective strategies, craft meaningful messages, and promote behavior change.
  • Behavior Models: Insights into frameworks like the Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory.
  • Messaging Best Practices: Strategies to emphasize hope and resilience and use culturally relevant language.
  • Evaluation: Tools to measure campaign impact and improve future efforts.

The latest data from the CDC show that rural residents are at a higher risk for suicide than urban residents and that rates of suicide almost doubled between 2000-2020 in rural areas.

Access the playbook here: CDC’s Suicide Prevention Communication Campaign Playbook.