Specific areas of comment

REPORT OF THE BLUE RIBBON WORK GROUP ON SUICIDE PREVENTION IN THE VETERAN POPULATION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Blue Ribbon Work Group on Suicide Prevention in the Veteran Population was chartered May 5, 2008, by Secretary of Veterans Affairs James B. Peake, MD, to provide advice and consultation to him on various matters relating to research, education, and program improvements relevant to the prevention of suicide in the veteran population. The Work Group’s report presents its findings and recommendations to improve relevant VA programs, with the primary objective of reducing the risk of suicide among veterans. The Work Group found that the VHA has developed a comprehensive strategy to address suicides and suicidal behavior that includes a number of initiatives and innovations that hold great promise for preventing suicide attempts and completions. Evaluation of the impact of these efforts will be of critical importance not only to promote continuous improvement in VHA’s suicide prevention efforts, but also to inform suicide prevention efforts across the nation and reach veterans who do not utilize VHA services. The Work Group had eight key findings and recommendations: Finding 1. Conflicting and inconsistent reporting of veteran suicide rates were observed across various studies. Recommendation 1: VHA should establish an analysis and research plan in collaboration with other federal agencies to resolve conflicting study results in order ...