Quality of Life Indicators
mental health & social wellbeing data
youth suicidal risk behavior -- updated 2/10
suicide rates
treatment capacity
percent jail inmates with mental illness
youth suicidal risk behavior -- updated 2/10
According to the WCSD 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the percentage of high school students reporting that they have attempted suicide in the past year has increased every year from 8.6% in 2001 to 14.6% in 2009. This is clearly an alarming trend which correlates with finding from the Centers for Disease Control which identified Nevada as a state at high risk for attempted suicide.
suicide rates
Suicide rates are a marker of mental wellbeing. Nevadans commit suicide at a rate that continues to be almost twice the national average. Suicide is one of the data measures likely impacted by economic and health risk factors. According to Washoe County’s senior citizen’s strategic plan 2006-2016, 22% of Nevada suicides in 2003 (96 persons) were persons ages 65 or older. Washoe County Senior Citizen’s Strategic Plan In contrast, 2.9% of adolescents in 2003, grades 9-12, reported suicide attempts in the past 12-months.
The Kaiser Foundation, State Health Facts site, reports Nevada mental health expenditures per capita in fiscal year 2004 were $54.45, compared to $93.04 for the US. Kaiser Foundation, State Health Facts
Fast Facts reported by the Reno Gazette Journal, December 6, 2007, 90% of Nevada suicide victims had a mental health and/or substance abuse problem but had not been seen by health professional. The rate of depression in Nevadans 26 and older is the highest in the nation. According to the draft 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results, 13.6% of WCSD students reported actually attempting suicide in the past 12-months vs. 13.8% of Nevada students.
treatment capacity
Measures are unclear and currently being researched.
percent jail inmates with mental illness
Nevada State Supreme Court Selected to Participate In National Criminal Justice/Mental Health Initiative
Release Date: February 28th, 2007
Source: http://www.nvsupremecourt.us/info/news/index.php?contentID=111
Nevada has been selected as one of seven states to participate in a national project to assist state Supreme Court Chief Justices in addressing treatment options for people whose mental illnesses bring them in contact with the criminal justice system.
An estimated 24 percent of Nevada’s 12,800 prison inmates suffer from mental illness or are developmentally disabled, increasing the costs of incarceration, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections.