Rhode Island Priority Topic Investments

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Overdose
Suicide

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island.

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 Rhode Island there were:

397

overdose deaths

38.2

overdose deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)

Source: NVSS – Drug Overdose Deaths

Overdose Funding At A Glance

Overdose Funding At A Glance
$5,302,735 FY21 Rhode Island TotalOverdose Prevention Funding	FY21 Awards Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) Rhode Island State Award: $4,102,989 Public Health and Public Safety Overdose Response Strategy: $74,500* Research Rhode Island Hospital: $762,747 Brown University: $362,499 *average award amount

Examples of How Rhode Island Is Working to Prevent Overdose

overdose strategies
	Community-driven action Rhode Island’s Community Overdose Engagement (CODE) project funds communities facing significant health disparities and overdose burden to assess unique community needs and implement evidence-based strategies. CODE’s local collaboratives allow the state to respond to the needs of people who use drugs.
	Innovative linkage to care Rhode Island Hospital’s emergency department paired a community health worker with a certified peer recovery specialist to provide counseling and linkage-to-care support to people with a substance use disorder.

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

Rhode Island 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 Rhode Island.

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 Rhode Island there were:

94

suicide deaths

8.4

suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted)

Source: Suicide Rates by State (cdc.gov)

Suicide Prevention Funding At A Glance

Suicide Funding At A Glance
$147,000 FY21 Rhode Island Total Suicide Prevention Funding	FY21 Awards Emergency Department Surveillance of Nonfatal Suicide-Related Outcomes (ED-SNSRO) Rhode Island Department of Health: $147,000

Examples of How Rhode Island Is Working to Prevent Suicide

suicide strategies
	Monitoring youth suicide Rhode Island used their real-time surveillance data to assess youth suicides after community partners reached out with concerns of increased suicide attempts in youth. Rhode Island observed rates were higher than pre-COVID-19. Rhode Island revived its previous Access to Lethal Means media campaign called Suicide Proofing Your Home and tailored a COVID-19 document with updated resources on ways families can reduce access to lethal means in the home for at-risk youth. Resources were also translated into Spanish and Portuguese.

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 Surveillance
Improving 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.