{
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    "title" : "The Data Briefing: White House Asks Data Scientists and App Developers to Help Suicide Prevention Efforts |Digital.gov",
    "description": "The Data Briefing: White House Asks Data Scientists and App Developers to Help Suicide Prevention Efforts",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/10/07/the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"The Data Briefing: White House Asks Data Scientists and App Developers to Help Suicide Prevention Efforts","summary" : "This article describes some of the data sources that could be leveraged for building data analysis and apps to aid in the suicide prevention effort.","date" : "2015-10-07T10:09:18-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"bbrantley" : "Bill Brantley"},"topics" : {
        
            "emerging-tech" : "Emerging tech",
            "mobile" : "Mobile",
            "open-data" : "Open data"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-10-07-the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/10/2015-10-07-the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/10/2015-10-07-the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/10/2015-10-07-the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts.md","slug" : "the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/10/07/the-data-briefing-white-house-asks-data-scientists-and-app-developers-to-help-suicide-prevention-efforts/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eThe White House issued a call on September 30, 2015, for data scientists and app developers to help with a vital public health issue: suicide prevention. From the \u003ca href=\"https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2015/09/30/building-partnerships-suicide-prevention\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eofficial announcement\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“If you are a data scientist, analyst, tech innovator, or entrepreneur interested in sharing ideas and resources for suicide prevention, we want to hear from you! Please send a brief note about your ideas and resources to mbasco[at]ostp.eop.gov. … [S]takeholders in suicide prevention will focus on three topic areas: data-driven suicide prevention or what the data tell us, key signs and symptoms of suicide risk, and leveraging technology and community participation to prevent suicide.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/10/600-x-400-Help-Kiketz-iStock-Thinkstock-484208478.jpg\"\n    alt=\"The focus of photo of a page is on the word help.\"/\u003e\u003cp\u003eKiketz/iStock/Thinkstock\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn this column, I will describe some of the data sources that could be leveraged for building data analysis and apps to aid in the suicide prevention effort. This is not an exhaustive list because there are many agencies involved in this mental health issue with data resources scattered throughout various agency websites. There are some great federal government resources, but, maybe, the first step is a single portal and app that provides a one-stop-shop for at-risk individuals, families, and health-care providers. Two good online resource sites to start from are the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) \u003ca href=\"http://www.samhsa.gov/tribal-ttac/resources/suicide-prevention\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSuicide Prevention page\u003c/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"http://www.sprc.org/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSuicide Prevention Resource Center\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right image-right-legacy\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/10/250-x-444-the-Support-screen-from-the-MY-3-suicide-prevention-app.jpg\"\n    alt=\"The Support screen from the MY 3 suicide prevention app\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the lead agencies for suicide prevention is SAMHSA, which provides two very good apps devoted to suicide prevention. The first app, \u003ca href=\"http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/gethelp/my3-app.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMy3\u003c/a\u003e, helps individuals create a support network. When the user is having suicidal thoughts or struggling with difficult emotions, he or she can use the app to reach quickly out to their family and friends for help.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe second app from SAMHSA is targeted for health care providers. \u003ca href=\"http://store.samhsa.gov/apps/suicidesafe/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSuicide Safe\u003c/a\u003e helps health care workers spot suicide risk among their patients and provides information on integrating suicide prevention methods into their health care practices. Suicide Safe is built around the \u003ca href=\"http://store.samhsa.gov/product/Suicide-Assessment-Five-Step-Evaluation-and-Triage-SAFE-T-/SMA09-4432\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSuicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage\u003c/a\u003e framework created by SAMHSA.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSAMSHA also offers a \u003ca href=\"http://www.samhsa.gov/data/\" target=\"_blank\"\u003erevamped data page\u003c/a\u003e with access to datasets on mental health information and community health indicators. The data collections are divided into five major topic areas: emergency department data, substance abuse facilities data, mental health facilities data, client level data, and population data. Click on \u003ca href=\"http://www.samhsa.gov/data/population-data-nsduh\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePopulation Data\u003c/a\u003e and the user will be brought to a page featuring links to downloadable data sets, reports, and the data collection methodology. Many datasets could potentially be used for exploring suicide prediction indicators and creating data-driven suicide prevention strategies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/resources.html\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eresource page\u003c/a\u003e for suicide prevention lists CDC resources and the other federal agencies involved in suicide prevention along with external organizations devoted to understanding and preventing suicide. Many of these organizations offer useful resources for data scientists and app developers. For example, the Department of Veterans Affairs \u003ca href=\"https://www.vetselfcheck.org/Welcome.cfm\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eVeterans Self-Check Quiz\u003c/a\u003e is a great online tool where the veteran can fill out a short, confidential survey. The veteran is then contacted by a VA Chat Counselor. The veteran can choose to remain anonymous while deciding if he or she wants to follow up on the services provided. The Veterans Self-Check Quiz would make an excellent mobile app and could be repurposed for other at-risk populations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEffective suicide prevention relies on helping individuals find the support they need, helping friends and families spot the warning signs and linking community resources to immediate mental health needs. If you are a data scientist, an app developer, or just have a good idea, please consider helping in making people’s lives better by reducing the risk of suicide in American society.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEach week, \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/emerging-tech/\"\u003eThe Data Briefing\u003c/a\u003e showcases the latest federal data news and trends.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDr. William Brantley is the Training Administrator for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Global Intellectual Property Academy. You can find out more about his personal work in open data, analytics, and related topics at \u003ca href=\"http://billbrantley.com\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBillBrantley.com\u003c/a\u003e. All opinions are his own and do not reflect the opinions of the USPTO or GSA.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWant to read more great content like this? Sign up for our \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/subscribe/\"\u003eDigitalGov newsletter\u003c/a\u003e!\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}