With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in collaboration with the Association for State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), NACCHO developed the Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool, known as SPACECAT. This tool strengthens local health department’s (LHD’s) capacity to address these intersecting issues by providing insight for strategic planning, program improvement, technical assistance requests, and relevant funding opportunities.
NACCHO has recently launched the SPACECAT to a number of randomly selected LHDs to form a nationally representative sample. Information collected from this survey will provide a comprehensive description of LHD infrastructure and practice in suicide, overdose, and ACEs. Findings will also highlight cross-cutting strengths, needs, and gaps in prevention strategies. Health departments not selected for the SPACECAT fielding will have future access to the tool, findings, and resources developed to strengthen capacity at the local level.
As a leading voice for LHDs, NACCHO seeks to improve the health of communities by strengthening prevention initiatives and advocating for those serving at the local level. The intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs is an exceedingly critical area in the field of public health. As the COVID-19 pandemic has potentially exacerbated these three public health issues, there is a greater sense of urgency to address their complex intersection. The findings from this national fielding will help NACCHO, ASTHO, and CDC better understand the impacts of COVID-19 on the capacity to address shared risk and protective factors for social and behavioral health outcomes.
To complement the tool, NACCHO has also created the Intersection of Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences webpage, which features an issue brief and a collection of tools and resources to help build public health infrastructure and capacity to implement evidence-based prevention strategies. ASTHO has created a suite of additional resources to accompany the tool, including a roadmap, glossary, capacity scale, notetaking guide, and testimonials from local, state, and territorial health agencies.
For any questions or requests to submit materials to strengthen capacity or implement prevention strategies for suicide, overdose, and ACE prevention at the local level, please contact us at [email protected].
