Background: Over 58 000 suicides in Europe every year have an impact on the educational system, employability and economy. In Sweden, in 2014, the indirect costs (loss of the quality-adjusted life-years, QALYs) of suicides were estimated 849 383 mln euro and approximately 4,3-5,7 mln euro in direct costs (costs of transport, treatment, investigation) (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, 2015). Given that more than 50% of individuals who committed suicide had recent contact with healthcare prior to death, it is vital to increase suicide preventive skills of students and teachers in the field of Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work and Media. Enhancing skills in suicide risk assessment and prevention by the introduction of digital tools which can be used by a person in an acute suicidal crisis (including students and teachers), may save life and improve the accessibility of mental health services for disadvantaged groups. Currently, in the participating countries, there are no available online suicide prevention tools in the field of higher education. The ELLIPSE program aims to fill this gap. The objective: To tackle skills-gaps in suicide prevention while addressing the learning needs and preferences of students as well as the reality of the labor market in the field of health and social care. To enable institutions of higher education to provide online courses in suicide prevention to students. To increase skills of prospective health and social care professionals to cope with the challenges of working with populations at risk for suicide and to increase available employees with skills that professionally serve this population. To encourage prospective journalists to engage in suicide prevention. To promote internationalization, mobility and development of European standards in this field. The participants: Students and teachers in the field of Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Social Work and Media, NGOs representing patients and relatives, suicide loss survivors, health- and social care workers, first responders, media and policy makers in Sweden, Norway, Poland, Hungary and Austria. The number of participants will be min. 600. The activities: Focus groups, joint staff training event, transnational project meetings, organization of international conferences, survey study, literature research and data analysis. Development and implementation of an e-learning and self-help crisis app. Publishing manuals. Ongoing dissemination and communications via websites, social media, interviews, articles, press conference on World Day of Suicide Prevention, mail, phone contact and networks of participating organizations. The methodology: All activities are grouped in three 1- year phases. The project will start with the dissemination of information about the project World Day of Suicide Prevention (10th September). Phase 1: development of surveys and 10 focus groups representing patients and relatives, suicide loss survivors, mental health and primary healthcare, social care workers, first responders, as well as media, managers, policy makers, students and teachers in the field of Medicine, Nursing, Psychology, Social Care and Media. Phase 2: A preliminary version of e-learning modules, handbook and self-help app will be created and evaluated in feasibility surveys for acceptance. Phase 3: The final version of e-learning program, handbook and self-help app will be launched and evaluated after 3 and 6 months. In Phase 3, research activities will complement the evaluation procedures and will result in open-access scientific publications. The potential protective effects of the suicide preventive programs on suicide rates can be modified by many bio-psycho-socio-cultural factors that need to be taken account. Project will end with the 1st International Conference on Educational Programs in Suicide Prevention 2022. The international expert group will publish guidelines, checklist and a final report. Results and impact. Designed for students and teachers in the field of higher education an e-learning OER course on suicide prevention in the field of higher education with a handbook, a self-help crisis app, a manual with the description of the step-by-step project activities and expert guidelines on educational programs in suicide prevention. All materials will be published online in 6 languages incl. English. The project will monitor the number of users and the potential influence of the program on learners and participants-developer of the program. Participating organizations are expected to have a strong focus on dissemination and sustainability of the project. It may have a large and sustainable impact on organizational and regional (better communication, skills and empowerment), national (increased competence) and international level (development of international expert guidelines on educational programs in suicide prevention that may help to keep high standards of future programs in this field).
Addressing the six challenges was a priority during the whole ELLIPSE project while working toward 6 aims we wanted to achieve while implementing the project: 1. Students. To enable students of institutions of higher education to access online courses in suicide prevention in 7 European languages and give them the opportunity to learn skills that may save someone’s life focusing on scalability and sustainability. 2. Professionals. To offer a possibility to increase the knowledge and skills of professionals helping them to excel in coping with the challenges of working with people at risk for suicidal behaviours by offering them some online materials, part of materials prepared by students as a part of their life-long education. Materials can be adjusted to meet the needs of this target group. 3. Clients/patients and their relatives. To increase access to basic knowledge and skills in suicide prevention to clients and patients to decrease their frustration with some insufficiencies in caring institutions and organizations engaged in suicide prevention and help clients/patients and their relatives to become a partner in the process of care. Selected materials prepared for students can be used directly and freely by this target group. 4. Healthcare, social care, educational, emergency care institutions and NGOs. To better address stakeholders’ expectations for well-educated personnel with skills in suicide prevention. Access to online courses helps to increase of availability of employees with skills in suicide prevention increasing accessibility of high-quality care for communities. 5. Characteristics of the subject. To develop an optimal study environment to enhance students’ learning skills helping them excel in the key suicide preventive competencies adjusting it to the potential needs of students who are in need of more guidance and care. 6. Internationalization. To promote internationalization, mobility, and development of European standards in the field of suicide prevention by creating guidelines for education in suicide prevention to increase the impact of the project and help to create courses for suicide prevention that are easily scalable and easy to adjust to the needs of other countries.
We applied for this project in March 2019 as we observed the following 6 challenges, that we wished to address: 1. Students. Surprisingly, students in higher education all over the world very often do not have access to any courses in suicide prevention. Some of the students are interested in suicide prevention because of their own experiences with suicidal behaviours. Some of them lost someone in suicide, and others have experienced their own mental health problems and even suicidal thoughts. They wish to be prepared by educational institutions for their future work with suicidal patients. 2. Professionals. As a consequence of the lack of educational courses in suicide prevention at the universities, professionals that are supposed to have both knowledge and skills in this field do not have it. This deficit of skills and knowledge results in less optimal choices of interventions with negative consequences both for themselves, as well as for their clients and patients. 3. Clients/patients, their relatives and NGOs that represent them. There is a gap between what skills ordinary people, NGOs and communities expect from professionals and their actual knowledge and skills in the prevention of suicidal behaviours (suicidal thoughts, attempts and suicide) that results in impossible to fulfil expectations from both sides, disappointments, conflicts, stigmatization, extra costs and even avoidable suicidal behaviours including deaths. At least some of these negative consequences could be avoided with a proper educational curriculum in the field of suicide prevention. 4. Healthcare, social care, educational, and emergency care institutions. There is a gap between the needs of the above stakeholders for well-educated personnel with competence for suicide prevention, intervention and postvention and what the labour market can offer. Lack of well-educated personnel prepared to deal with suicide prevention is common. Institutions and organizations have to put more financial and human resources to education covering this educational gap which results in fewer resources including time, for diagnosing, treatment, rehabilitation as well as research. 5. Characteristics of the subject. Suicide prevention is emotionally difficult and needs to be taught with care as some students have mental health issues or other are suicide loss survivors themselves. Study environments need to be adjusted to their capabilities and limitations and at the same time to teach them key suicide preventive competencies. However, there is a limited number of teachers in higher education that feel that they could address this subject during their studies, as they themselves do not have enough of knowledge. 6. Internationalization. There are no international curricula/programs for students in higher education in Europe. Development of European standards in the field of education in suicide prevention is necessary, as well as creation of programs for key professionals that would address this educational gap.