VA Suicide Prevention Applications Network: A National Health Care System-Based Suicide Event Tracking System

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Mental Health Surveillance

Background:

• The US Department of Veterans Affairs' Suicide Prevention Applications Network (SPAN) is a national system for suicide event tracking and case management.
• Assessing data on suicide attempts among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) service users is crucial for effective suicide prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the data overlap between SPAN and VHA medical records for suicide attempters.
• To determine the completeness of suicide attempt reporting in VHA systems.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of suicide attempter data reported in SPAN and VHA medical records.
• Data assessed from October 1, 2010, to September 30, 2014.
• VHA medical record data identified using ICD-9 E95 codes.

Main Results:

• Of 50,518 VHA patients who attempted suicide, only 41% had data present in both SPAN and medical records.
• Approximately 65% of patients with suicide attempts recorded in SPAN lacked corresponding data in VHA medical records.
• Neither system alone captured all suicide attempters.

Conclusions:

• SPAN significantly enhances suicide attempter data collection compared to VHA medical records alone.
• Current systems (SPAN and VHA medical records) are insufficient for identifying all suicide attempters.
• Further research is necessary to optimize data integration across systems for comprehensive suicide surveillance.