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PRESS RELEASE

Puerto Rico Commission for Suicide Prevention and Statistics Institute publish statistical report for 2019

For the year 2019, 176 cases of suicide were reported, 67 cases less than in 2018

Dr. Orville M. Disdier, executive director of the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute (Institute) reported that a collaboration with the Commission for Suicide Prevention (CPS), attached to the Puerto Rico Department of Health, resulted in the “Annual Statistical Report on Deaths by Suicide 2019”.

“This report is of great importance for citizens, since it presents data on suicide for 2019 and draws comparisons with previous years. In addition, it collects data not only on fatal suicide events, but it also presents information on calls to the ASSMCA PAS line and, for the first time, includes data on suicide attempts and contemplations attended by the Emergency Medical Corps,” said Myribel Santiago, manager of statistical projects at the Institute and co-author of the publication.

The publication of this report underlines the importance of the Institute in coordinating the statistical production service of government entities. The Institute has the capacity not only to request statistical information from executive branch agencies, but also to provide them with collaboration, advice and the necessary tools to improve the quality of the statistics they produce.

“Despite the extraordinary circumstances we currently live in, we hope to continue collaborating. Today, more than ever, we need reliable and accurate data to facilitate the implementation of a responsible, informed and sensitive public policy to the complex reality we live in,” said Dr. María Isabel Coss, educational coordinator of the CPS and lead author of the publication.

For his part, Dr. Disdier argued that “the results of this collaborative report reflect that in 2019, a crude suicide rate of 5.5 per 100,000 inhabitants was observed, which is the lowest rate since 2000. Without a doubt, this is very positive and it also demonstrates the enormous importance of continuing to support the preparation of this type of report, since it is only with data that we can know if the prevention measures are giving the desired results”.

The CPS is responsible for promoting, developing, implementing, coordinating actions and strategies for suicide prevention, adopting an integrative and interdisciplinary approach aimed at individuals, families, communities at risk, and helping professionals. In addition, it emphasizes research, the development of prevention and intervention programs and

in raising public awareness of the magnitude and seriousness of suicide in Puerto Rico. For its part, the Institute is a governmental entity whose mission is to guarantee Puerto Rico that it has complete, reliable statistics, and quick and universal access.

You can access this annual report and other related reports through the following link: Suicide Statistics.

To learn more about the Institute of Statistics, you can access the website: www.estadisticas.pr.gov. On social media through Facebook (@estadisticas .pr), Twitter (@EstadisticasPR) and LinkedIn (Institute of Statistics of Puerto Rico) accounts.

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Contacts:

Idia M. Martinez, R-28, 787-603-3200

Lourdes Burgos, R-27, 787-562-2932

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