The shadow of suicide is a profound challenge, particularly for veterans. Yet a new era of hope, driven by technological breakthroughs designed to prevent these tragedies, is close. From sophisticated algorithms that pinpoint individuals in crisis to novel therapeutic approaches, the focus is shifting toward proactive, data-driven interventions to protect those who’ve served our nation.
Traditional means of identifying people at risk of suicide have involved asking questions: Do you have thoughts of suicide? Have you made a plan? However, this approach relies on self-reporting that something is wrong.
According to Dr. Rajeev Ramchand, a research scientist and co-director of the RAND Epstein Family Veterans Policy Research Institute, we can identify veterans who may be at high risk—before they say a word.
“There is already an enormous amount of data available,” said Ramchand, “and with the proper algorithms and data analysis, you can identify groups of veterans who may be at high risk for suicide.”
Ramchand said the data already exists in health care and other systems.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has been using this data since 2017 through the Recovery Engagement and Coordination for Health – Veterans Enhanced Treatment (REACH VET) initiative. And so far, REACH VET is showing good results but with room for improvement.
A 2022 National Institute of Mental Health study of over 173,000 veterans, mostly men around 51 years old, looked at the REACH VET program. REACH VET uses a special computer tool to find veterans at risk of suicide. This was the first time such a tool has been used in the massive health care system.
Veterans in the program went to more appointments and missed fewer. They were also more likely to create new suicide safety plans. Plus, there were fewer mental health hospital stays and emergency room visits, as well as fewer documented suicide attempts within six months. However, the program didn’t change the number of deaths from suicide or other causes within a six-month period. Overall, the study suggests that putting money into tracking suicide risk, analyzing health data and improving how health care works can greatly improve veterans’ health.
This method of prevention looks for the times when a veteran is at risk of suicide, operating under the assertion that suicide risk isn’t static but rather changes over time. The patient wears a ring or other biometric feedback device that identifies when their heartbeat is racing.
“We don’t know what to do with those time periods yet,” said Ramchand. “There is a recent paper that has some caution that maybe people don’t want to be alerted during high-risk times. We have a lot of research to do.”
The use of biometrics to help combat suicide is complemented by other tools, including sensors placed in a patient’s bed to track movement and flag sleep disturbances. Apps tracking the typing cadence on cellphones are also being studied.
Additionally, natural language processing techniques are being used to analyze patient journal entries, therapy transcripts, social media posts and more to identify linguistic cues and warning signs of suicidal intent.
Ramchand said that economic factors should also be more closely studied and analyzed as part of the VA’s priority group system to determine eligibility for care.
“We should be looking at things like Medicaid and SNAP eligibility, income tax credits, minimum wage laws—all of these things that kind of reduce the hardship of financial precarity are pretty exciting to explore in the world of suicide prevention,” Ramchand said.
By using existing data, exploring real-time monitoring and integrating social policies that address economic hardship, we can proactively identify and support veterans at risk.
“The future of veteran suicide prevention hinges on these innovative strategies and open dialogue,” said DAV National Legislative Director Joy Ilem. “Continuing to explore every avenue and angle is necessary for ensuring our nation’s veterans receive the comprehensive support they have earned and deserve.”