As part of its mental health website page (www.agc-ca.org/resources/safe- ty-health/mental-health-initiative/), AGC provides resources including a downloadable jobsite poster and Toolbox Talks addressing suicide prevention. It is currently developing a mental health toolkit offering a variety of educational links and resources, to be rolled out during national Mental Health Awareness Month in May. And on May 9, 2022, AGC will hold a mental health stand-down with Flatiron Construction in Laguna Beach that is intended to shine a bright spotlight on the impact mental health issues have on the construction industry. Mental Health Awareness Month also


provides the backdrop for the formal announcement of an exciting new col- laboration between AGC and Kane—one offering the potential to put significant mental health resources in the hands of construction industry workers and their families via a simple smartphone app.


Educating and Raising Awareness Built around daily micro-learning sessions that require just three to five minutes each day, the innovative “360 Focus Mental Health” app is a development of Dr. Christy Kane LLC. AGC member com- panies can learn more on how to make the app available to employees, staff, and family members by visiting AGC of California’s Mental Health Initiative Page. Te app seeks to raise awareness and


educate users on an array of mental health issues, from suicide prevention, to depres- sion and anxiety, substance use disorders and more. At its core, it is intended as a tool to spur behavioral change in an industry in dire need of solutions. “Te construction industry has higher


rates of suicide and higher rates of sub- stance abuse than other industries,” Kane pointed out. “Tere are also higher rates of depression and anxiety, work fatigue,


8


CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MAY-JUNE 2022


FAST FACTS


Suicide and Substance Use Disorders In Construction


53/100k 4x


With 53.2 suicides per 100,000 workers, construction has among the highest suicide rate of any industry, according to the Center for Disease Control and


Prevention (CDC), with deaths by suicide five times higher than all construction deaths combined.


In 2020, the CDC found that men working in construction have one of the highest suicide rates compared to other industries. Their rate of suicide is about four times higher than the general population.


and family dynamic issues.” Te cycle of substance use addiction is often fed by on- the-job injuries—higher in construction than other sectors—that are frequently treated with prescription opioids. Over the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated a deteri- orating mental health environment in the country. It is something that Kane calls a “true pandemic,” raising concerns for workers across a broad swath of occu- pational sectors, not the least of which is construction.


One key factor associated with the


high rate of mental health issues and substance use disorders in construction is that nearly 90% of the construction workforce are men, who are far less likely to seek treatment than women. In 2020, just over one in four women (25.6%) in the United States received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months compared to 14.6% of men, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. And men are reported to die by suicide 3.53 times more often than women.


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