American Academy of Nursing Expert Panel Consensus Statement on leveraging equity in policy to improve recognition and treatment of mental health, substance use disorders, and nurse suicide

•Rates of suicide, substance use disorder, and mental health issues have increased in nursing.•The Surgeon General, National Academy of Medicine, and American Nurses Association among others have stressed the importance of nurse and health care worker well-being, and the importance of the mental health of health care workers.•Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing recommend actions to address risks to mental health and the factors contributing to nurse suicide to inform policy, education, research and clinical practice. Rates of nurse mental health and substance use disorders are high. Heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are challenged to care for patients in ways that often jeopardize their own health and increase risks for their families. These trends exacerbate the epidemic of suicide in nursing underscored by several professional organization clarion calls to nurses’ risk. Principles of health equity and trauma-informed care dictate urgent action. The purpose of this paper is to establish consensus among clinical and policy leaders from Expert Panels of the American Academy of Nursing about actions to address risks to mental health and factors contributing to nurse suicide. Recommendations for mitigating barriers drew from the CDC's 2022 Suicide Prevention Resource for Action strategies to guide the nursing community to inform policy, education, research, and clinical practice with the goals of greater health promotion, risk reduction, and sustainment of nurses’ health and well-being are provided.