Mental Health & Substance Abuse

Sally Spencer Thomas and Construction Working Minds

Construction companies choose to work with Dr. Sally Spencer- Thomas—actively pursuing suicide prevention and helping employees living with mental health conditions and suicidal thoughts.

Download PDF

Safety & Health

How Employers Can Help Reduce Opioid Use on the Job

According to recent research, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in opioid abuse fueled by stress and lack of access to prevention services and support groups due to restrictions on in-person meetings.

Addressing mental health issues on the job is the new imperative

Recent data highlights a surge in suicide rates in the United States to its highest levels in decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the overall suicide rate rose by 24 percent between 1999 and 2014. Suicide deaths increased from 29,199 in 1999 to 42,773 in 2014.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The CDC page on Suicide Prevention includes a technical package of policies, programs, and best practices.

Safety & Health

Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention

The mission of the alliance is to provide and disseminate information and resources for suicide prevention and mental health promotion in construction with the goal of creating a zero suicide industry.

AEC Professions at High Risk for Suicide, But Preemptive Approaches Can Help

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released suicide statistics by profession earlier this year, the nexus of vocations that make up the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professions ranked uncomfortably high on the list.

Build Protective Factors Against Mental Health Crises, Suicide Risk

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, published its report on Occupation and Suicide July 1, 2016, the construction/extraction industry was stunned to discover that it was ranked No. 1 for highest numbers of suicide. For those of us in the suicide prevention field, this was confirmation of what we already knew: the construction industry is a perfect storm of risk factors for suicide.

National Safety Council

This toolkit includes sample policies, fact sheets, presentations, safety talks, posters, white papers, reports, videos and more, so you can implement a workplace program on opioids.

Construction Safety's Next Frontier: Suicide Prevention

The construction industry is experiencing unprecedented attention to mental health and suicide prevention. Progressive contractors with leading safety, health and wellness programs are embracing mental health and suicide prevention as the next frontier in safety. The Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention (CIASP) was born out of necessity.

OSHA

OSHA Page on Preventing Suicides

The Center for Construction Research and Training

Resources to Prevent Opioid Deaths in Construction

Developing a Stronger, Healthier Safety Culture

Could there be business benefits to developing healthy safety culture in a company? Although it is true that companies that improve safety realize multiple business benefits, the main point is that "It's the right thing to do."

Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General's Spotlight on Opioids

The Spotlight on Opioids assembles opioid-related information from the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health into one document to better inform the general public, especially family and friends of people with an elevated risk of opioid overdose, opioid misuse, and/or opioid use disorder.

Mental Health Initiatives for Construction Professionals

What can the construction industry do to change attitudes about mental health? This male-dominated sector sees endless amounts of silent suffering due to preconceived notions, but some employers are fighting back against the stigma. Every construction business can do the same by educating their employees and revising company policies.

Suicide Prevention: A Health and Safety Priority for the Construction Industry

When the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released its milestone report on occupation and suicide earlier this month, many construction industry leaders took notice. For the first time, researchers were able to rank industries by highest rates and the largest numbers of deaths by suicide across 17 states.

The AEC Industry's Deadly Problem

Architecture and construction rank high on a recent report listing suicides by occupation. Are these professions doing enough to ensure the mental health of practitioners and students?

The Impact of a Suicide Prevention Strategy on Reducing the Economic Cost of Suicide in the New Sout

Suicidal behavior has gained recognition worldwide as a significant public health problem. In Australia, suicide is a leading cause of death with 2,273 deaths (aged over 15 years) in 2011 (1,747 male deaths and 546 female deaths), representing 1.5% of all deaths over the age of 15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013b). Most deaths by suicide are among people of working age, and suicide is the leading cause of death for men aged 25–44 years and women aged 25–34 years.

Mental Health & Substance Abuse

This Website Uses Cookies