International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
Open Access

Abstract

Suicide prevention is a shared responsibility and programs that use broad-based partnerships within schools and communities have greater buy-in for creating prevention programming that is effective for the population served. In the U.S., suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students. Nationally, about 1.4% of college students attempt suicide each year and nearly 7% of college students seriously consider suicide. The Ohio State University has the largest campus suicide prevention program in the U.S., and the state of Ohio is leading a national effort in campus suicide prevention. Recently, Ohio became the first state to pass a law requiring all state institutions of higher education to provide all students, faculty and staff information about available suicide prevention programs. The Ohio State University uses a multi-pronged effort shared by more than 50 campus partners and coordinated by the OSU Suicide Prevention Program. The approach has been identified by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration as a best practice approach to suicide prevention. Research demonstrates the effectiveness of this type of partnership model in reducing mental health stigma and increasing students’ access to care. This session will overview the components of the program, discuss how aspects of the program can be implemented at other universities and provide concrete examples of how academic institutions can work together to make suicide prevention a shared campus responsibility.

Biography

Darcy Haag Granello is a Professor of Counselor Education at The Ohio State University, a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Director of The Ohio State University Suicide Prevention Program. She has co-authored three books and published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles. She has presented more than 200 times at national and international conferences.

Email: granello.1@osu.edu