The School Suicide Policy Evaluation Tool (SSPET): A proof‐of‐concept for assessing school suicide prevention policies

Author:

Wirthlin Douglas1,Richards Zeke1ORCID,Crandall Cody S.1ORCID,Mortensen Shad P.1,Richards Jackson R.2,Bakian Amanda V.3

Affiliation:

1. Rocky Vista University School of Osteopathic Medicine Parker Colorado USA

2. The Department of Psychiatry The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Iowa City Iowa USA

3. Department of Psychiatry The Huntsman Mental Health Institute, University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah USA

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundAs adolescent suicide rates have increased, there has been a nationwide increase in legislation requiring schools to create suicide prevention policies. In Utah, school districts must implement a youth suicide program for grades 7–12. Currently, there have been no systematic analyses of Utah school district suicide prevention policies. Thus, we developed a new evaluation instrument, the School Suicide Policy Evaluation Tool (SSPET).MethodsThe SSPET was derived from the “Model School District Policy” and evaluates criteria on prevention, intervention, re‐entry, and postvention. Four raters used the SSPET in a systematic analysis of suicide prevention policies for all school districts in the state of Utah.ResultsAnalysis revealed a right‐skewed distribution of policy scores, and a median total score was 2.25/36. The mean percentage of inclusion of the four subsections in policies was less than 20% for most criteria. Median scores were totaled for the four subsections as follows: Prevention score was 1/9, intervention score was 1/14, re‐entry score was 0/4, and postvention score was 0/9.ConclusionThis proof‐of‐concept study demonstrates the utility of the SSPET in identifying shortcomings of school district policies on suicide while generating specific recommendations for improvement. With further validity testing, we expect this tool to be useful to school district administrators, education policymakers, and those studying suicide interventions and outcomes in school‐aged children and adolescents.

Publisher

Wiley

Reference38 articles.

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2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Visualization Tool.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;2023. Accessed March 13 2023.https://wisqars.cdc.gov/data/lcd/home

3. Age-Related Racial Disparity in Suicide Rates Among US Youths From 2001 Through 2015

4. Comparison of Suicides Among Younger and Older Adolescents in Virginia, 2008–2017*

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