Division of Injury Prevention and Mental Health
The Division of Injury Prevention and Mental Health (IPMH) works to make Minnesota a safe and healthy place to live and grow by preventing injury, violence, suicide, and substance misuse, including commercial tobacco, and by strengthening mental health and community supports.
What we do
- We work to ensure everyone has a fair chance to be as healthy as possible by removing obstacles to health, promoting healthy behaviors, and supporting community-driven solutions.
- We collect and share data to understand injury, violence, suicide, commercial tobacco use, and substance misuse in Minnesota, and use these data to inform programs and actions.
- We implement and evaluate programs that help reduce the risk of injury, violence, suicide, commercial tobacco use, and substance misuse.
- We educate and share public health information to help individuals and communities succeed.
- We work to improve community health through policy, systems, and environmental change.
Key partnerships
Our community partners include local health departments, Tribal communities, non-profit organizations, health care providers, other state agencies, and professional alliances and prevention coalitions.
Together, we strive to ensure that people across Minnesota are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to prevent injury, violence, suicide, commercial tobacco use, and substance misuse. While IPMH leads efforts across a wide range of health topics, many other MDH teams also work in related areas and collaborate with similar community partners. Because of this, IPMH works closely with several divisions across the agency, including but not limited to the following:
Section and programs within IPMH
Injury and Violence Prevention
Injury and violence affect people and communities across Minnesota, and prevention requires shared responsibility and coordinated action. The Injury and Violence Prevention Section (IVPS) focuses on prevention, data, and partnerships to reduce the burden of injury, suicide, and violence. We support Minnesotans by:
- Preventing suicide and supporting mental health through community-based programming and access to emergency mental health support.
- Reducing traumatic brain injury (TBI) and connecting people with TBI to services.
- Supporting victims and survivors of human trafficking and exploitation.
- Helping communities prevent sexual violence and domestic violence.
- Providing education, training, technical assistance, and funding to communities.
- Leading statewide networks, taskforces, and initiatives in human trafficking prevention and response, sexual violence prevention, traffic safety, TBI resources and referral, mental health promotion, suicide prevention and response, and more.
- Collect, analyze, and report data on suicide, occupational health, sexual violence, traumatic brain injury, adverse childhood experiences, and other related topics.
- Inform policy, strengthen prevention strategies, and connect people to resources that promote safety and wellbeing.
Learn more: Injury and Violence Prevention Section
Substance Misuse Prevention
Substance use and the overdose crisis continue to impact Minnesotans in every corner of the state; we all have a role to play in preventing harm and saving lives. The Substance Misuse Prevention Section (SMPS) focuses on prevention, overdose response, harm reduction, and data of alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and other substances to better understand substance use trends and support effective, community-driven solutions including:
- Providing education about substance misuse prevention.
- Preventing the initiation of substance use among youth.
- Preventing overdose and reducing related harms.
- Promoting access to treatment, recovery, recovery friendly housing, and other support services.
- Promoting policy, systems, and environmental strategies that support the prevention of substance misuse.
- Improving access to medications for opioid use disorder.
- Collecting, analyzing, and sharing substance use related data in ways that support communities in using data to inform action.
- Identifying and eliminating disparities in substance use and outcomes.
Learn More: Reducing Substance Use
Learn More: Overdose Prevention Home Page
Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control
Commercial tobacco use is the single greatest preventable cause of death and disease in Minnesota. And while the state’s overall smoking rates are below national averages, certain communities are still at risk and suffer disproportionately from commercial tobacco-related death and disease. The Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control (CTPC) Section works to reduce commercial tobacco’s harm by:
- Preventing initiation among young people.
- Promoting quitting and treatment.
- Eliminating secondhand exposure.
- Identifying and eliminating disparities.
Learn more: Commercial Tobacco Use | Prevention and Treatment