A Systematic Examination of Texas School District Websites for Suicide Prevention Information

Abstract

AbstractYouth suicide and related behaviors continue to be a significant public health concern in the USA. Multiple approaches across settings, including schools, are required to address this multi-faceted public health concern. The Texas Suicide Safer Schools Report recommended that districts post suicide prevention information on their websites as one piece of more comprehensive suicide prevention initiatives. However, there is no examination in the literature on whether this recommendation has been implemented and what, if any, information is accessible to parents and students about suicide on school district websites. This study quantifies the suicide prevention information available on a random sample of 20% of all Texas school district websites (N = 242) and conducts exploratory analyses to examine what district features are associated with an increased likelihood of posting this information. Results indicate that 53% of the sampled websites contained any suicide prevention information. Of the websites containing this information, the most frequent types posted were the numbers of suicide prevention hotlines followed by links to professional organizations. Significant relationships were found between Hispanic/Latino enrollment and information available in Spanish, independent school districts (vs. charters), and posted suicide prevention information, as well as total district enrollment and posted suicide prevention information. Implications and targeted efforts for improvement are discussed.