Fascinating 988 trends research published by NYU’s Jonathan Purtle and his team in JAMA last week. Yes, we have work to do to better promote 988 across all states to reduce suicides and mitigate crises. But it is interesting to see which states are doing better…as well as which states need to do better.

Purtle’s analysis of 988 calls across states from 2022-2024 found that some high-suicide-rate states also had high 988 use (e.g., Alaska, New Mexico), suggesting awareness or need is translating into service engagement.
Others (e.g., Montana and Wyoming) had high suicide rates but lower 988 use, potentially reflecting access, awareness, or cultural/technological barriers.
States like New Jersey and New York had low suicide rates and moderate-to-high 988 use, indicating preventive or well-established crisis support mechanisms. (Keep up the good work, colleagues in my local area!!)

Another goal for 988 is to effectively divert people from making unnecessay emergency department visits when their suicidal or behavioral health crisis could be effectively de-escalated through helpline support (or a 988-enabled mobile crisis visit). Purtle’s comparison of 988 calls for people in behavioral health crisis to trends in mental health/suicide-related emergency department visits in states shows that we have an uphill climb here. Their analysis determined that 988 usage remains substantially lower than ED utilization across the board. Where 988 is well-known and used, it may be mitigating ED overload in some places (e.g., Vermont, Alaska, NY). In contrast, low 988 use states, especially those with high ED visits, suggest missed chances to prevent crises from escalating to emergency care.

Check out trends in your state. What are your thoughts about this study and its implications for your local 988 marketing?https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2835119?utm_source=linkedin&utm_campaign=content-shareicons&utm_content=article_engagement&utm_medium=social&utm_term=061925