Letter of Invitation

August 13, 2022

Judy Qualters, PhD, MPH
Director, Division of Injury Prevention
National Center for injury Prevention and Control
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
jxq1@cdc.gov

RE: Request for Assistance
Dear Dr. Qualters,
In April, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) was contacted by our partners at the Ohio
Suicide Prevention Foundation and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction
Services regarding possible increases in suicide deaths in several Ohio counties for the first
quarter of 2022. These counties included Butler, Richland, Cuyahoga, Shelby, Darke, and
Miami.
ODH began conducting preliminary data analysis using two different data sources, mortality
data and syndromic surveillance. Using preliminary 2022 mortality data, ODH analyzed countyand state-level suicide deaths by month and quarter compared to finalized data from 20112020 to assess monthly and quarterly trends over time. Preliminary findings show that suicide
deaths in Q1 of 2022 compared to Q1 of 2021 increased 550% (13 vs. 2) among Richland
County residents, 67% (20 vs. 12) among Butler County residents, while Ohio increased 8%
(438 vs. 405). Additionally, Ohio is a recipient of the CDC Emergency Department Surveillance
of Nonfatal Suicide-Related Outcomes (ED-SNSRO) grant, and we have been able to monitor
our syndromic surveillance data using the suspected suicide attempt (CDC suicide attempt V1)
definition by county. Using the information provided by our partners and these data sources,
we have worked to identify several additional counites that experienced increases in suicide
deaths from Q4 2021 and Q1 2022, including Adams, Warren, Montgomery, and Summit.
Using preliminary 2022 mortality data, ODH has continued to analyzed suicide deaths by
demographic (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity, race/ethnicity and sex, month of death) by select
county and for Ohio. Data was pulled from 2011-2021 to provide context and comparison to
2022 to help identify if increases were occurring within certain subpopulations.

246 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215 U.S.A.

614 I 466-3543
www.odh.ohio.gov

The State of Ohio is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Provider of ADA Services.

We are requesting assistance from CDC to investigate this increase in suicide in Ohio that
might include a variety of activities not yet defined, all of which will remain under the direction
and supervision of the Ohio Department of Health. The State of Ohio will retain ownership of
all data collected including any local data.

Thank you for the review of this request.
Sincerely,

Kristen Dickerson, PhD, MSN, MPH, RN, MLT (ASCP)
Chief, Bureau of Infectious Diseases
State Epidemiologist