Approaches to Community-Based Suicide Prevention

Course overview

Accurate assessment, safety planning, and treatment are the cornerstones of suicide intervention. Suicide prevention also encompasses community-wide programs and interventions that target populations long before any elevated risk or suicidal behaviors occur. These programs tend to focus on bolstering protective factors against suicide while minimizing the development of risk factors. Depending upon your professional role, you may be involved in the implementation and organization of primary prevention programs. Even if you are less directly involved in primary prevention, providing quality care to your community means understanding the ways that these interventions are underway to bolster protective factors and prevent suicide. This course will examine community-based suicide prevention approaches that mitigate individual risk factors and support a comprehensive approach. You will learn how these early interventions impact suicide risk. You will also learn the role that connectedness, life skills, and resilience play in preventing suicide. Examples of specific programs and interactive exercises will support your learning of these concepts. The goal of this course is to provide all healthcare professionals in the acute care setting with information about community-based, upstream suicide prevention approaches. Note: This course focuses specifically on early interventions that are designed to reduce suicide risk. It does not focus on screening, assessment, or interventions with actively suicidal individuals. The Relias library has many additional suicide prevention courses that can help you improve your skills in screening, assessment, interventions, and postvention.