Dr. Jody Russon and her colleagues (Swecker, Zambriski & Hosig) from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, are the recipients of an “Advancing Transdisciplinary Communities in Rural Health Research” seed grant from Virginia Tech for a project entitled, “Addressing Suicidality Among Veterinary Students.” Veterinarians die by suicide at a rate four times that of the general population. Unfortunately, this trend impacts retention and quality of services in the profession, contributing to geographically-based disparities in veterinary care. Shortages of veterinarians in rural, agricultural communities pose serious threats to rural health and wellness (e.g. inefficient livestock care, poor disease management). Dr. Russon’s project is an interdisciplinary, community-based effort to examine current needs, barriers, and facilitators associated with implementing suicide management practices (education, identification, and referral) into the ecology of a veterinary school setting.
