Daren Huang

• Received the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF): 9-week fellowship to work alongside faculty and graduate mentors on research and graduate school applications. • Explored geographic variation and trends in emergency department (ED) visits among adolescent who attempted suicide, abused alcohol, and utilized drugs across all counties in California. • Analyzed large OSHPD hospital data in California through Stata, interpreted results, and submitted an abstract to PI. • Presented methods and findings to fellow students and academic professors/faculties at the SURI summer research symposium. Abstract: According to the CDC, suicide rates went up by 30% in half of the states since 1999. By looking at ED visits in 2009-2013 for self-harm, alcohol, and drug abuse, research is needed to provide a clearer understanding of whether county-level rurality, economic region, and median household income influence rates of ED visits for substance abuse and self-harm. Data from the Office of Statewide Health and Planning Department (OSHPD) was utilized for this study. 4 different quartiles were divided to examine the rate of median household income level in California. In addition, 9 different economic regions in California were explored. Lastly, urban areas by county was compared to rural areas. The results showed wealthier counties who had a median household income of $53,000 had higher rates of self harm, alcohol, and drug abuse related visits compared to low income counties. No significant differences in rates between urban and rural counties for these behaviors were observed. As far as regions, Northern California regions are more prone to self-harm, alcohol and drugs. Overall, it is important to examine these behaviors in order to pinpoint which counties in California should be focused on to prevent future substance abuse and self-harm from occurring again.

• Analyzed a cohort study by examining the difference in healthcare utilization between adolescent suicide attempters and non-attempters who presented to a California ED for drug and alcohol abuse. • Also, managed ED data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) to conduct both projects through the statistical software Stata & Microsoft Excel. • Lastly, worked closely with the same professors and graduate students for both projects for 10-15 hours a week during the spring semester and 30-40 hours during the fellowship. Conclusion: There is a positive relationship with adolescent suicide attempts and future ED visits for drugs and alcohol. The suicide attempters’ gender and the type of insurance they have will indicate a higher chance in encountering drug and alcohol use. This is a public health problem that shows a high level of concern for adolescents that are clearly experiencing mental health problems at a young age. This is an important topic because adolescents are the future generation to make a difference in the world and support the elders and the younger people. If they pass away, the world will be in jeopardy. Future research that can be done is identifying if adolescents were exposed to suicide, drugs and alcohol awareness programs or received any forms of guidance about their behaviors at school or in the community. This will determine if there needs to be a policy implementation to help future adolescents from attempting suicide at an early age and use of drugs and alcohol.