Question, persuade, refer (QPR) gatekeeper training: implementation of suicide prevention trainings at California State University, Stanislaus

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for young adults 15-24 years of age (Drapeau &McIntosh, 2014). Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) Gatekeeper Training is a widespread suicide intervention tool designed to educate participants on identifying when a person is displaying suicidal warning signs and behaviors. Efforts are being made to create awareness about suicidality and its implications on university campus communities. In collaboration with the Student Health Center, the premise of this Graduate Project is to bring suicide prevention workshops to students, staff, faculty, and administrators at California State University, Stanislaus to reduce the impact of suicidality on campus. Specifically, this project involves engaging in and undertaking the work necessary to implement QPR trainings on campus. The process of bringing this project to fruition illustrates the benefits associated with collaboration and reaching out to a greater number of participants. In addition, limitations surrounding advertisement of such trainings are addressed. Given the request by participants, additional trainings should be delivered to increase awareness and engage in open dialogue. Dialogue will encompass the undertaking of role-rehearsal to discuss preventative options to avert future adverse events from occurring on the campus community and broader community. Implications include the need to continue with on-going learning, as these trainings only form a foundation to increase knowledge surrounding suicidality.