This is from the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. (Link at the end.)
Glossary

This glossary was abridged and adapted from one published in the National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention: Goals and Objectives for Action. Rockville, MD:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, 2001.

Affective disorders – see mood disorders

Best practices – activities or programs that are in keeping with the best
available evidence regarding what is effective

Bipolar disorder – a mood disorder characterized by the presence or history
of manic episodes, usually, but not necessarily, alternating with depressive
episodes

Causal factor – a condition that alone is sufficient to produce a disorder

Comorbidity – the co-occurrence of two or more disorders, such as depressive
disorder with substance abuse disorder

Consumer – a person using or having used a health service

Contagion – a phenomenon whereby susceptible persons are influenced towards
suicidal behavior through knowledge of another person's suicidal acts

Culturally appropriate – the ability of an organization or program to be
effective across cultures, including the ability to honor and respect the beliefs,
language, interpersonal styles, and behaviors of individuals and families
receiving services

Depression – a constellation of emotional, cognitive and somatic signs and
symptoms, including sustained sad mood or lack of pleasure

Effective – prevention programs that have been scientifically evaluated and
shown to decrease an adverse outcome or increase a beneficial outcome in the
target group more than in a comparison group

Environmental approach – an approach that attempts to influence either the
physical environment (such as reducing access to lethal means) or the social
environment (such as providing work or academic opportunities)

Epidemiology – the study of statistics and trends in health and disease
across communities

Evaluation – the systematic investigation of the value and impact of an
intervention or program

Evidence-based – programs that have undergone scientific evaluation and have
proven to be effective

Frequency – the number of occurrences of a disease or injury in a given unit
of time; with respect to suicide, frequency applies only to suicidal behaviors
which can repeat over time.

Gatekeepers (suicide gatekeepers) – individuals trained to identify persons
at risk of suicide and refer them to treatment or supporting services as
appropriate

Goal – a broad statement of general purpose to guide planning, focused on the
end result of the work

Indicated prevention intervention – intervention designed for individuals at
high risk for a condition or disorder or for those who have already exhibited
the condition or disorder

Intervention – a strategy or approach that is intended to prevent an outcome
or to alter the course of an existing condition (such as strengthening social
support in a community)

Means – the instrument or object whereby a self-destructive act is carried
out (i.e., firearm, poison, medication)

Means restriction – activities designed to reduce access or availability to
means and methods of deliberate self-harm

Methods – actions or techniques which result in an individual inflicting
self-harm (i.e., asphyxiation, overdose, jumping)

Mood disorders – mental disorders that are characterized by a prominent or
persistent mood disturbance; disturbances can be in the direction of elevated
expansive emotional states, or, if in the opposite direction, depressed
emotional states. Included are Depressive Disorders, Bipolar Disorders, mood disorders
due to a medical condition, and substance-induced mood disorders

Objective – a specific and measurable statement that clearly identifies what
is to be achieved in a plan; it narrows a goal by specifying who, what, when
and where or clarifies by how much, how many, or how often

Outcome – a measurable change in the health of an individual or group of
people that is attributable to an intervention

Personality disorders – a class of mental disorders characterized by deeply
ingrained, often inflexible, maladaptive patterns of relating, perceiving, and
thinking of sufficient severity to cause either impairment in functioning or
distress

Postvention – a strategy or approach that is implemented after a crisis or
traumatic event has occurred

Prevention – a strategy or approach that reduces the likelihood of risk of
onset, or delays the onset of adverse health problems or reduces the harm
resulting from conditions or behaviors

Protective factors – factors that make it less likely that individuals will
develop a disorder; protective factors may encompass biological, psychological
or social factors in the individual, family and environment

Public information campaigns – efforts designed to provide facts to the
general public through various media such as radio, television, advertisements,
newspapers, magazines, and billboards

Public health approach – the systematic approach using five basic
evidence-based steps, which are applicable to any health problem that threatens
substantial portions of a group or population. The five steps include defining the
problem, identifying causes, developing and testing interventions, implementing
interventions and evaluating interventions

Rate – the number per unit of the population with a particular
characteristic, for a given unit of time

Resilience – capacities within a person that promote positive outcomes, such
as mental health and well-being, and provide protection from factors that
might otherwise place that person at risk for adverse health outcomes

Risk factors – factors that make it more likely that individuals will develop
a disorder; risk factors may encompass biological, psychological or social
factors in the individual, family and environment

Screening – administration of an assessment tool to identify persons in need
of more in-depth evaluation or treatment

Selective prevention intervention – intervention targeted to subgroups of the
population whose risk of developing a health problem is significantly higher
than average

Social support – assistance that may include companionship, emotional
backing, cognitive guidance, material aid and special services

Stakeholders – entities, including organizations, groups and individuals,
which are affected by and contribute to decisions, consultations and policies

Suicidal act (also referred to as suicide attempt) – potentially
self-injurious behavior for which there is evidence that the person probably intended to
kill himself or herself; a suicidal act may result in death, injuries, or no
injuries

Suicidal behavior – a spectrum of activities related to thoughts and
behaviors that include suicidal thinking, suicide attempts, and completed suicide

Suicidal ideation – thoughts of engaging in suicide-related behavior

Suicidality – a term that encompasses suicidal thoughts, ideation, plans,
suicide attempts, and completed suicide

Suicide – death from injury, poisoning, or suffocation where there is
evidence that a self-inflicted act led to the person's death

Suicide attempt – a potentially self-injurious behavior with a nonfatal
outcome, for which there is evidence that the person intended to kill himself or
herself; a suicide attempt may or may not result in injuries

Suicide attempt survivors – individuals who have survived a prior suicide
attempt

Suicide survivors – family members, significant others, or acquaintances who
have experienced the loss of a loved one due to suicide; sometimes this term
is also used to mean suicide attempt survivors

Surveillance – the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of health data with timely dissemination of findings

Universal preventive intervention – intervention targeted to a defined
population, regardless of risk; (this could be an entire school, for example, and
not the general population per se)

http://www.sprc.org/suicide_prev_basics/glossary.asp