Pennsylvania Priority Topic Investments
Click on any of the tabs below to learn more about each topic.
Pennsylvania Overdose Investment Snapshot
Combatting the current overdose crisis is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) overdose investments for the state of Pennsylvania.
There were 91,799 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2020 (28.3 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a stark 30% increase from 2019. Approximately 75% of drug overdose deaths in 2020 involved an opioid, with synthetic opioids (e.g., illicitly manufactured fentanyls) accounting for more than 80% of all opioid-involved deaths. Drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids increased by 55% and deaths involving psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine) increased by 47% from 2019 to 2020. Drug overdose deaths involving cocaine also increased by 22%.
In 2020 in Pennsylvania there were:
5,168
overdose deaths
42.4
overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths
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Overdose Data to Action (OD2A)
Public Health and Public Safety
Research
*average award amount |
Examples of How Pennsylvania Is Working to Prevent Overdose
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First responder addiction and connection treatment training program
Pennsylvania conducted 47 trainings to over 1,000 first responders from EMS, fire, and law enforcement, as well as attorneys, and correctional officers on addiction and linkage to care. Six trainings were supervisor-specific workshops, addressing stigma reduction, linkage to treatment, and naloxone leave-behind strategies. |
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Patient advocacy
Pennsylvania successfully established a patient advocacy program to assist patients affected by the closure of clinics where they received opioid treatment. Pennsylvania provided linkage to care to approximately 130 patients between September 2019 and February 2020, as well as information on local resources, providers, and opioid safety. |
CDC Overdose Prevention Strategies
CDC’s Injury Center plays a critical role in addressing the drug overdose epidemic by driving progress in the five strategic priorities that guide CDC’s response framework for preventing overdoses.
Additional Resources
Pennsylvania Suicide Prevention Investment Snapshot
Preventing suicide is a priority for the agency. This page provides an overview of the FY21 CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) suicide prevention investments for the state of Pennsylvania.
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States. It was responsible for almost 46,000 deaths in 2020, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2020, 12.2 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.2 million attempted suicide.
In 2020 in Pennsylvania there were:
1,694
suicide deaths
12.5
suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)
Source: Suicide Rates by State (cdc.gov)
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Comprehensive Suicide Prevention
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Recipient is preventing suicide with CDC Injury Center (NCIPC) funding by:
- Strengthening access and delivery of suicide care
- Creating protective environments
- Promoting connectedness
- Identifying and supporting people at risk
Some groups have higher rates of suicide than others. To address disparities, Pennsylvania is focusing on:
- Veterans
This snapshot reflects suicide prevention priorities and activities under Year 1 funding of the Comprehensive Suicide Prevention (CSP) Program. This information is subject to change, as the CSP state recipients are now in Year 2 funding.
Examples of How Pennsylvania Is Working to Prevent Suicide
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ED provider training
The University of Pittsburgh is training emergency department (ED) providers on conducting brief interventions using motivational interviewing principles; examples of evidence-based practices that will be used include safety planning, follow-up phone calls, and care coordination services. |
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Raising mental health parity law awareness
The University of Pittsburgh is raising awareness and providing education on existing mental health parity laws to northwest Pennsylvania health care providers and community members. These laws ensure that health insurance coverage for mental-health related visits is on par with coverage for physical health-related visits. |
CDC Suicide Prevention Strategies
Suicide is preventable and there is no single cause, so prevention requires addressing the multiple factors linked to suicide at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. As such, CDC is leading a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. Such an approach aims to prevent people from becoming suicidal in the first place and support people at increased risk. CDC uses data to track and monitor suicide trends, research possible risks and what works to prevent them, and help communities put proven suicide prevention strategies into place.
CDC’s Suicide Prevention Resource for Action outlines seven strategies that are based on the best available evidence to help communities and states focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to prevent suicide.
Strengthen economic supports
Create protective environments
Improve access and delivery of suicide care
Promote healthy connections
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
Identify and support people at risk
Lessen harms and prevent future risk
Near Real-Time SurveillanceImproving surveillance – collecting better and more timely data is also an important strategy to better understand, monitor, and prevent suicide and suicidal behavior. Expanding surveillance of nonfatal suicide-related outcomes (e.g., suicide attempts, suicide ideation) can help improve timeliness of data, identify spikes, and inform prevention and response.