Army study seeks best suicide-prevention programs

DENVER (AP) — Researchers hope a new three-year, $17 million study will help them reduce the rising number of suicides in the military by determining for the first time which prevention programs work and which don't.

The project announced today in Denver is funded by the Army. It also will be managed by the veterans medical center in Denver and Florida State University.

The plan is to develop a global network of researchers to study suicide and then compile a broad database so the people running prevention programs can see what works.

Col. Carl Castro, director of an Army medical research program, says current suicide prevention methods are based on "good ideas" from experts, but there's no evidence that they're effective.

More than 1,100 servicemen and women killed themselves between 2005 and 2009.