Community of Hope: A comprehensive suicide prevention intervention at MIT

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for most age groups in the United States. The current rate of suicide among college students is 7.5 per 100,000 with the rate remaining fairly steady over the past 30 years. While the rate is lower on college campuses, compared to the general population ages 18-24, the issue is still much larger on a college campus due to suicide bereavement or the number of people affected and to what degree they were impacted. As of 2015, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) had the highest suicide of all reporting colleges. The primary objective of this intervention is to increase knowledge of signs of suicidal ideation, increase perceived ability to intervene, and increase self-efficacy. This will be accomplished through the implementation of two evidence-based programs, QPR Gatekeeper Training and Kognito At-Risk for College Students. This intervention will allow us to evaluate the long-term effects of just the Kognito training, and the benefits of students completing both trainings. We will be utilizing the Gatekeeper Behavioral Scale to measure outcomes and will also collect student demographic data to analyze any relation between outcomes and demographics. We hope this intervention will provide a model for other college campuses that are yearning to do more in the field of suicide prevention.