NEWARK - Licking County had the highest annual rate of suicide deaths per 100,000 people in central Ohio, according to a recent Ohio University study of data between 2009 and 2018.
The Ohio University study found that 37 of Ohio’s 88 counties, many of them rural and with little access to health care, are now above 14 for every 100,000 people.
A sweeping new examination of suicide in Ohio in the past decade finds that 37 of the 88 counties now surpass the national rate, and the coronavirus pandemic likely is triggering a “staggering” increase in such deaths.
Ohio’s rural counties are confronting a rise in suicides, the report says, with few if any resources to help people suffering life-threatening depression.
Along the Ohio River in southern Ohio, Brown County, for example, has $20,000 set aside for suicide prevention, the study found, while Cincinnati's Hamilton County has about $4 million.
More: Advocates hope to raise awareness of youth mental health in Licking County
The study’s author said that for the first time, suicide rates are calculated to the township level in southwest and northeast Ohio, giving mental health care providers a more precise idea of where a prevention message is most needed.
The study, “Suicide in Ohio: Facts, Figures and the Future,” was released this summer from Ohio University, where Executive in Residence Orman Hall oversaw the analysis. Officials with the Mental Health and Addiction Advocacy Coalition, the Ohio Alliance for Innovation in Population Health and the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation were involved in developing the report.
Hall, a longtime Fairfield County mental health administrator, was director of the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services in the Kasich administration. He said OU got death data kept at the Ohio Department of Health, and the study team focused on suicides between 2009 and 2018. The 10 years provided enough information for a more precise picture, he said.
“Everything is local,” Hall said. “The degree to which we can provide information on this problem, the degree to which we can be local, it becomes more urgent and more real. And that’s what I think we were able to do. That’s why we aggregated the 10 years’ worth of data.”
Franklin County’s rate of suicide, 12.45 per 100,000, ranked 59th out of Ohio’s 88 counties, according to the study. Licking County ranked 20th; Pickaway County, 23rd; Madison County, 61st; Fairfield County, 74th; Union County, 82nd, and Delaware County, 87th.
“Suicide is increasing at a pretty alarming rate around the state,” said Tony Coder, executive director of the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation. “This is a conversation that needs to be happening.”
He worries about how social distancing is affecting people’s mental health and urges people to reach out to loved ones.
For at least three years, federal reports have found that suicide has been increasing for much of the 21st century. The national rate of suicide now is around 14 for every 100,000 people in the population.
The average annual rates of suicide deaths range from a low of 7 per 100,000 people in Holmes County to a high of 24 in Meigs County. Of central Ohio counties, Licking County had the highest rate at 16, followed by Pickaway at 15. Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Madison and Morrow are at 12 per 100,000, and Union is at 11.
Many southern and southeastern Ohio counties are particularly affected. Adams, Gallia and Jackson counties are all at 20 suicides per 100,000 people. Hocking is at 19. Highland, Pike and Ross are all at 17.
The report said other recent studies estimate that increases in suicides move with increases in the unemployment rate. “With the unemployment rate rising to 16.8% in May 2020,” the OU study said, “an associated surge in suicides has the potential to be staggering.”
Penny Sitler, director of Mental Health America of Licking County, said their LOSS (Local Outreach to Survivors of Suicide) Team has had very few suicides throughout the pandemic. Since March, Sitler said they've had four in Licking County.
Between January and July of this year, Sitler said Licking County has had 16 suicides compared to 23 total in 2019.
Sitler said the single biggest risk factor during the pandemic is isolation.
"We're hard-wired to be connected to other people. There's not an easy way for that to happen right now," she said, noting additional factors like job security and uncertainties are keeping people on edge and can add to anxiety or depression.
MHA of Licking County, Sitler said, is limited in what they can do to raise awareness face-to-face. But are working to continue their programming virtually and have their YES Club open, but can only have a minimal number of people there at a time.
Sitler encouraged community members to stay in touch with people, whether that's through texting or phone calls. She encouraged people to get exercise, such as using Licking County's hiking trails, finding creative activities to do with family.
"Think outside of the norm because it's not a normal time," Sitler said. "Music is great. Cooking is good. Getting into a good book - libraries are opening back up and you can always do window pickup. Start noticing what's around you."
She also noted for a time, the State of Ohio was pushing their Thrive for Five campaign, encouraging people to reach out to five people a week for their mental health.
Sitler encouraged the community to be aware of possible warning signs of suicide, including talking about suicide, death, dying or the afterlife; feeling sad, bored, hopeless or depressed; making verbal threats; a sudden change in personality; showing little interest in the future; acting in rash, hostile ways; giving or throwing away favorite personal belongings; and more.
Anyone having thoughts of suicide can get help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 (or 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish speakers); the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-221-5445; texting 4HOPE to 741741 to reach someone at Ohio’s 24/7 Crisis Text Line; or reaching Ohio State’s counseling center at 614-292-5766 during regular business hours, and at that number after hours by pressing “Option 2.”
Resources
- 2-1-1
- 1-800-273-TALK
- 9-1-1
- Crisis text line: Text 4hope to 741741
- Mental Health America of Licking County at mhalc.org
- Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation at ohiospf.org
- The American Association of Suicidology at suicidology.org
Advocate reporter Michaela Sumner and Dispatch Reporter Megan Henry contributed to this story.
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