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Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth ages 10–24Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (June 2020). Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars, with the fastest growing rates among youth ages 10–14 Horowitz, L., Tipton, M. V., & Pao, M. (2020). Primary and Secondary Prevention of Youth Suicide. Pediatrics, 145(Suppl 2), S195–S203.. There is significant racial disparity where the rate of suicide among Black youth ages 13 and younger is twice that for White youthBridge, J. A., Horowitz, L. M., Fontanella, C. A., Sheftall, A. H., Greenhouse, J., Kelleher, K. J., & Campo, J. V. (2018). Age-related racial disparity in suicide rates among US youths from 2001 through 2015. JAMA pediatrics, 172(7), 697-699.. Suicide prevention and treatment for youth must be developmentally appropriate, attend to critical social determinants of health, assess the presence of adverse childhood events (ACEs) and trauma, incorporate parental or guardian support, and address consent considerationsThompson, M. P., Kingree, J. B., & Lamis, D. (2019). Associations of adverse childhood experiences and suicidal behaviors in adulthood in a US nationally representative sample. Child: care, health and development, 45(1), 121-128.. Effective youth suicide prevention requires primary prevention strategies as part of a comprehensive approach that incorporates the health system and extends into schools and the communityRobinson, J., Bailey, E., Witt, K., Stefanac, N., Milner, A., Currier, D., ... & Hetrick, S. (2018). What works in youth suicide prevention? A systematic review and meta-analysis. EClinicalMedicine, 4, 52-91.. When focusing specifically on health care settings, one relevant approach is the Zero Suicide framework, which has been adapted for application in pediatric settings to improve care for youth at risk of suicide.

This webinar presents two examples of how Zero Suicide has been adapted for application in pediatric settings. Specifically, it addresses the application of clinical pathways for outpatient suicide care in pediatric behavioral health, and the development and maintenance of a caring contacts texting program for a pediatric population. By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to (1) design adaptations to risk identification, assessment, and care pathway development to address suicide in youth-serving health care systems; (2) describe how the caring contacts intervention can be applied in pediatric settings; and 3) discuss the importance of leadership and staff training to sustain practice change in pediatric hospital systems.