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Suicide prevention across the community: Evaluation of mental health trraining for multiple gatekeeper groups
Hawley, Suzanne R. Skinner, Thomas Young, Marci St.Romain, Theresa Provines, Jessica Lynn
Hawley, Suzanne R.
Skinner, Thomas
Young, Marci
St.Romain, Theresa
Provines, Jessica Lynn
Other Names
Location
Time Period
Advisors
Original Date
Digitization Date
Issue Date
2024-11-15
Type
Article
Genre
Keywords
Mental health,Suicide,Educational assessment,Medically underserved areas,Kansas
Subjects (LCSH)
Citation
Hawley, S. R., Skinner, T., Young, M., St Romain, T., & Provines, J. (2024). Suicide Prevention Across the Community: Evaluation of Mental Health Training for Multiple Gatekeeper Groups. Kansas journal of medicine, 17(6), 127–132. https://doi.org/10.17161/kjm.vol17.22524
Abstract
Introduction
Suicide rates in the U.S. are higher than the global average, with rural areas experiencing even greater rates. This study investigated whether a single suicide prevention training could improve knowledge, awareness, and intention to act among various gatekeeper populations in Kansas, a rural state with elevated suicide rates.
Methods
Licensed clinical psychologists at a public university in Kansas developed an evidence-based suicide prevention training program, offered online to multiple subgroups: university faculty, staff, and students, health care workers, and community members (voluntarily), as well as high school staff and students (compulsorily). The study employed a reliable, validated instrument to assess participants’ knowledge, awareness, and intention to act using a Likert-type scale. Participants also reported whether they had completed prior suicide prevention training. A total of 865 participants provided retrospective pre/post responses, and the data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests and one-way ANOVA/Kruskal-Wallis tests.
Results
Overall, participants in all subgroups, regardless of prior training, showed statistically significant pre/post increases across all measures. While no significant differences were found in learning between recruitment subgroups, variations were identified based on the number of previous trainings completed.
Conclusions
The findings support the effectiveness of a single suicide prevention training across diverse populations, suggesting important implications for targeting training efforts and optimizing resource allocation in high-need environments.
Table of Contents
Description
Publisher
University of Kansas Medical Center
Journal
Kansas Journal of Medicine
Book Title
Series
Digital Collection
Finding Aid URL
Use and Reproduction
Archival Collection
PubMed ID
ISSN
1948-2035