California's rural counties struggle with rising number of suicides
The suicide rate in California’s rural counties is rising twice as fast as the rate in its urban centers, according to a Bee review of the latest data from the California Department of Public Health.
Twenty-seven California counties have fewer than 175,000 residents. The suicide rate in those counties was almost 19 per 100,000 residents in 2013, up 23 percent from 2004.The suicide rate in urban counties rose by about 11 percent during the same period.
The suicide rate in rural California counties was more than 80 percent higher than the rate in urban counties during 2013, state figures show.
Much of the trend is tied to demographics. Suicides are increasingly common among white, older adults, state figures show. Rural California has a higher concentration of white, older adults than the rest of the state.
Dr. Todd Stolp, who recently retired as Tuolumne County Health Officer, spent years studying rural suicides after a spate of them occurred in his area. Older Californians, he said, attempt suicide at greater rates largely due to “loss of spouse or because of deteriorating health.”
More than just age and race are at play, though. The suicide rate among whites age 50 and older is higher in rural counties than in urban ones, the state data show.
Stolp found a correlation between high rates of substance abuse – a keen problem in many rural areas – and suicide. Access to firearms may also play a role. About 52 percent of suicides in rural California involved guns, compared to 39 percent of suicides in urban counties from 2004 to 2013. A few years ago, Stolp and other community members convinced local gun clubs in his area to mention suicide risk and prevention during firearm safety presentations.
Susan Gallagher, executive director of Mental Health America of Northern California, noted that relatively few mental health professionals work in rural areas.
“This makes it so hard for people to access mental health services in a timely manner,” she said. “Unfortunately this is the tragic outcome of such shortages.”
These graphics show the rising suicide rate in California and suicide rates by county.
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Source: California Department of Public Health | Rural counties are Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Napa, Nevada, Plumas, San Benito, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yuba.
This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 12:41 PM with the headline "California's rural counties struggle with rising number of suicides."