Researchers identify emerging rural suicide ‘belt’ that encompasses Tennessee

A “suicide belt” of unusually high rates stretches through Tennessee. (Photo: Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline)

Suicide rates in rural America remain persistently higher than in urban communities, according to new research from East Tennessee State University that identified a national suicide “belt” with relatively high death rates that extends from the east to west coasts, directly through Tennessee.

Overall, rates of deaths by suicide increased in both rural and urban communities between 2018 and 2021, researchers noted. 

After the onset of the COVID pandemic, the nation experienced its biggest one-year increase in suicide deaths in 2021, claiming more than 48,000 lives. 

Rates in rural areas, however, were higher. While urban areas experienced suicide rates of about 13 to 14 per 100,000 residents between 2018 and 2021, rural areas recorded 19 to 20.

Researchers cited a variety of factors as contributing to higher rural suicide rates: among them, a lack of access to mental health care; stigma associated in seeking it; barriers that include transportation and poverty; and higher suicide rates associated with certain jobs, including agricultural work.

They also highlighted an acute shortage of mental health providers in rural communities. 

All but four of Tennessee’s 95 counties are designated mental health professionals shortage areas, according to data from the state’s Department of Health. Only Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties are not.

Researchers noted an emerging national suicide belt that stretches across the mid-section of the country and includes parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Nevada. 

“The increasing suicide trends in the U.S. highlight the urgent need for enhanced mental health and preventative programs and services,” researchers concluded.

If you, or someone you care about, are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

 
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