Effect of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program on suicide attempts among youths.

Objective To determine whether a reduction in suicide attempts among youths occurs following the implementation of the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Suicide Prevention Program (hereafter referred to as the GLS program), consistent with the reduction in mortality documented previously. Design, Setting, and Participants We conducted an observational study of community-based suicide prevention programs for youths across 46 states and 12 tribal communities. The study compared 466 counties implementing the GLS program between 2006 and 2009 with 1161 counties that shared key preintervention characteristics but were not exposed to the GLS program. Counties implementing GLS program activities had significantly lower suicide attempt rates among youths 16 to 23 years of age in the year following implementation of the GLS program than did similar counties that did not implement GLS program activities (4.9 fewer attempts per 1000 youths 95% CI, 1.8-8.0 fewer attempts per 1000 youths; P = .003).

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