Open access

School-Based Suicide Prevention through Gatekeeper Training: The Role of Natural Leaders

Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
12 August 2022

Abstract

One Tier 2 approach to school-based youth suicide prevention is gatekeeper training, where teachers and school staff learn to respond to students in distress. Although promising, implementation-sensitive prevention efforts could be advanced by providing additional training to natural leaders in the school building, so they can support and coach others. The purpose of this study is to describe the development and initial mixed-methods pilot evaluation of a natural leader training to support the real-world implementation of QPR® gatekeeper training, a Tier 2 (selective) intervention. This study underscores the importance of creating implementation approaches to meet the needs of real-world school contexts.

Résumé

Une approche de niveau 2 destinée à la prévention du suicide chez les jeunes en milieu scolaire repose sur la formation de personnes-ressources, comme les professeurs et le personnel scolaire, pour leur apprendre à répondre aux étudiants en détresse. Tout en étant prometteurs, les efforts de prévention axés sur la mise en œuvre de cette approche pourraient être améliorés en dispensant une formation supplémentaire aux leaders naturels au sein même de l’école, de manière à accompagner et former d’autres personnes. L’objectif de cette étude est de décrire le développement et l’évaluation pilote initiale type fondée sur des méthodes mixtes de la formation d’un leader naturel pour accompagner l’implantation sur le terrain de QPR® gatekeeper training, une intervention (sélective) de niveau 2. Cette étude souligne l’importance de mettre en place des approches afin de mieux répondre aux besoins sur le terrain en milieu scolaire.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

cover image Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 41Number 3July 2022
Pages: 176 - 195

History

Version of record online: 12 August 2022

Key Words

  1. suicide prevention
  2. youth
  3. gatekeeper training
  4. implementation

Mots-clés

  1. prévention suicide
  2. jeune
  3. formation personne-ressource
  4. implantation

Authors

Affiliations

Deinera Exner-Cortens [email protected]
Elizabeth Baker
Cristina Fernandez Conde
Marisa Van Bavel
Mili Roy
Chris Pawluk
Rocky View Schools, Airdrie, AB

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