Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Toolkit

This toolkit aims to help local health departments (LHDs) translate data from their Suicide, Overdose, and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Capacity Assessment Tool (known as SPACECAT) results into public health action.

It provides information and guidance on how to start strengthening LHD capacity to address the intersection of suicide, overdose, and ACEs prevention.

The toolkit is organized into 8 sections that map to each of the key capacity domains within SPACECAT:

Infrastructure Capacity:

• Networked Partnerships
• Multilevel Leadership
• Managed Resources
• Data and Surveillance
• Shared Planning and Strategic Plans

Topical Capacity:

• Evidence Based Strategies for Suicide, Overdose, and ACEs Prevention
• Health Disparities
• Workforce Capacity

Each section includes key takeaways, worksheets or tip sheets, and links to relevant tools and resources.

The Toolkit sections are not organized in any order. Use results from your LHDs completed SPACECAT to guide you to a starting point. For example, if your SPACECAT results indicate that there is an opportunity to build capacity in the Managed Resources Domain, you may wish to begin with the Managed Resources section of this Toolkit.

Consider using this Quick Start Guide to help you translate your LHDs SPACECAT results into an actionable plan to increase capacity or initiate programming. Then, return to this Toolkit for topical guidance and specific resources.

For more information about this project or resources from within, please contact one of the staff members below.

NACCHO would like to thank the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for providing financial support for this work under cooperative agreement CDC #6 NU38OT000-04-01.