Dos and Don'ts in Designing School-Based Awareness Programs for Suicide Prevention

Luna Grosselli; Kristina Herzog; Robert H Aseltine; Judit Balazs; Vladimir Carli; Jerry Ciffone; Diego De Leo; Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis; Keith Hawton; Ulrich Hegerl; Kairi Kõlves; Stan Kutcher; Lars Mehlum; Thomas Niederkrotenthaler; Mohsen Rezaeian; Johanne Renaud; Barbara Schneider; Ute Lewitzka; Jürgen Hoyer; Susanne Knappe

doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000783

Dos and Don'ts in Designing School-Based Awareness Programs for Suicide Prevention

Crisis. 2022 Jul;43(4):270-277. doi: 10.1027/0227-5910/a000783. Epub 2021 May 27.

Authors

Luna Grosselli¹, Kristina Herzog¹, Robert H Aseltine², Judit Balazs^{3

4}, Vladimir Carli⁵, Jerry Ciffone⁶, Diego De Leo^{7

8}, Christina van der Feltz-Cornelis⁹, Keith Hawton¹⁰, Ulrich Hegerl¹¹, Kairi Kõlves^{7

12}, Stan Kutcher¹³, Lars Mehlum¹⁴, Thomas Niederkrotenthaler¹⁵, Mohsen Rezaeian¹⁶, Johanne Renaud^{17

18}, Barbara Schneider¹⁹, Ute Lewitzka²⁰, Jürgen Hoyer¹, Susanne Knappe¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.
² Division of Behavioral Sciences and Community Health and Center for Population Health, UConn Health, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT, USA.
³ Institute of Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University Budapest, Hungary.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Bjørknes University College, Oslo, Norway.
⁵ National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of Mental Ill-Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁶ Private Practice, Saint Charles, IL, USA.
⁷ Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Mount Gravatt, QLD, Australia.
⁸ Slovene Suicide Research Centre, Primorska University, Koper, Slovenia.
⁹ Department of Health Sciences, Hull York Medical School, University of York, UK.
¹⁰ Centre for Suicide Research, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK.
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Germany.
¹² WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention, School of Applied Psychology, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
¹³ Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.
¹⁴ National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Oslo, Norway.
¹⁵ Unit Suicide Research & Mental Health Promotion, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
¹⁶ Occupational Environmental Research Center, Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
¹⁷ Department of Psychiatry, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
¹⁸ Manulife Centre for Breakthroughs in Teen Depression and Suicide Prevention, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
¹⁹ Department for Addictive Behavior, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LVR-Klinik Köln, Germany.
²⁰ Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Despite the promising evidence for the effectiveness of school-based awareness programs in decreasing the rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in young people, no guidelines on the targets and methods of safe and effective awareness programs exist. Aims: This study intends to distill recommendations for school-based suicide awareness and prevention programs from experts. Method: A three-stage Delphi survey was administered to an expert panel between November 2018 and March 2019. A total of 214 items obtained from open-ended questions and the literature were rated in two rounds. Consensus and stability were used as assessment criteria. Results: The panel consisted of 19 participants in the first and 13 in the third stage. Recommended targets included the reduction of suicide attempts, the enhancement of help-seeking and peer support, as well as the promotion of mental health literacy and life skills. Program evaluation, facilitating access to healthcare, and long-term action plans across multiple levels were among the best strategies for the prevention of adverse effects. Limitations: The study is based on opinions of a rather small number of experts. Conclusion: The promotion of help-seeking and peer support as well as facilitating access to mental health-care utilities appear pivotal for the success of school-based awareness programs.

Keywords: Delphi survey; awareness; school; suicide prevention; young people.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Humans
Mental Health
Program Evaluation
Schools
Suicidal Ideation*
Suicide, Attempted*

Grants and funding

Funding: This study was part of the project “Network for suicide prevention in Dresden (NeSuD)” at the Technische Universität Dresden and the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. The project was financed by the German Ministry of Health (Budesministerium für Gesundheit, BMG; funding number: ZMVI1-2517FSB148). Open access publication enabled by Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.