Sedgwick County sees 13% drop in suicides in 2023, officials point to expanded prevention

Dr. Nicole Clouse, a psychologist and associate professor at the KU School of Medicine and member of the Sedgwick County Suicide Prevention Coalition, presented the county's 2023 suicide-data report and said, "we lost 94 members of our community to suicide in 2023, which is a rate of 18 per hundred thousand." She told the commission that the total represents a 13 percent decrease from 2022 and is the lowest county rate since 2015.

Clouse described demographic and method patterns in the data: males accounted for roughly three-quarters of deaths and firearms were the most common method, "accounting for about 65 percent of the deaths in 2023," she said. She noted that 58 percent of decedents had a known history of mental illness and 51 percent had known suicidal ideation, and emphasized opportunities for intervention through medical contacts and community programs. Commissioners asked about the contribution of 988 and other services to the decline; staff said more granular analyses are available but fluctuations can occur year to year.

The board moved to receive and file the report following discussion and voted to approve that motion. The commission and Comcare staff highlighted ongoing prevention activities including school-based youth initiatives, clinician trainings, survivor support events and outreach at community gatherings.