The links below contained detailed information for the upcoming 2017 Safe States Alliance Annual Meeting, taking place September 12-14, 2017 in Aurora, Colorado.
Please note:
- A total of five concurrent sessions will take place during the Annual Meeting, and there will be up to five breakouts occurring simultaneously during each of those concurrent sessions. Within each breakout, there will be up to four presentations that take place.
- This online system does not allow us to embed the individual presentations within each breakout. Please note the session presentations listed under each Concurrent Breakout title for associated content.
- The on-site mobile app WILL embed these sessions for ease of use.
- A printable, detailed agenda can be found on the 2017 Annual Meeting website.
- If you have any questions, please contact info@safestates.org
- All session times and locations are tentative and subject to change. Safe States will continue to update these details as changes take place.
Learning to Fly: Piloting New Indicators for Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Learning Objectives
- Understand the importance of the CSTE indicators for substance abuse and mental health.
- Learn about the Minnesota Department of Health’s experience implementing the indicators, and the process for your own state or local health department to use the indicators.
- Highlight the results and products that have been developed from the Minnesota Department of Health’s implementation of the CSTE indicators for substance abuse and mental health.
Statement of Purpose
Nationally, suicide deaths were the tenth leading cause of death in 2015. Drug overdose deaths have also increased dramatically and now are the leading cause of injury death. Mortality attributable to drug abuse and mental illness is a small proportion of the societal impact of substance use and mental health; it also includes significant morbidity, disability, and economic costs. The sources of information for the epidemiology of substance abuse and mental health are national surveys and state hospital discharge databases. The goal of this project was to pilot the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) indicators for substance abuse and mental health to provide feedback to CSTE and promote adoption by other state and local health departments.
Methods/Approach
The CSTE identified 18 indicators to measure and monitor substance abuse and mental health. Four are derived from death certificates collected from vital records, three are derived from hospital discharge data, two are derived from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), two are derived from the Minnesota Student Survey, five are based on National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data, one is based on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s ARCOS database of prescription opioid sales, and one is based on the CDC’s Alcohol and Policy Information System.
Results
Data were gathered for the 18 indicators from their respective data sources. The results for each indicator were compiled in a report and feedback on the limitations, recommendations, ease of use, perceived usefulness, and likelihood of adoption by local health departments were provided. The indicators were broken into three groups (i.e., Alcohol Use, Substance Use, and Mental Health) and data briefs for each topic were created.
Conclusions & Significance to the Field
Mental illness and substance abuse occur frequently in the general population, can result in severe negative health outcomes, and have significant economic impacts. A substantial degree of preventability is suggested by the disparate impact of these disorders on segments of the population. State and local public health surveillance is critical for program planning and evaluation.
Presenters
Nate Wright, MPH, Minnesota Department of Health
Biography
Nate Wright works at the Minnesota Department of Health in the Injury and Violence Prevention Section as part of the Applied Epidemiology Fellowship Program administered by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). His work primarily focuses on suicide and drug overdose, but those topics encompass and overlap considerably with other related public health matters in which he participates.