Effect of Suicide Prevention Training for Professionals

Effect of Suicide Prevention Training for Professionals on Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding Suicide Prevention

Annually a substantial number of courses and trainings are organised in Flanders with regard to suicide prevention.These trainings are mainly aimed at intermediaries, such as caregivers, teachers, police, etc. From previous research it appears that such trainings are one of the most effective strategies for increasing knowledge, attitudes, skills and self-confidence with regard to dealing with persons who are suicidal and with crisis situations. However, such research has not yet been conducted in Flanders, which means that the effect of the training on the knowledge and attitudes of the intermediaries could not yet be determined. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of the trainings in Flanders. These trainings are organised by the Centre for the Prevention of Suicide (CPZ) and by the suicide prevention workers of the Centers for Mental Health Care.

All participants who register for one of these trainings will be invited by e-mail at three moments to complete an online questionnaire:

• Pre-test: one week before the training,
• Post-test: after the training,
• Follow-up: three months after training.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Training on suicide prevention

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 10000
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Gwendolyn Prof. Dr. Portzky; Phone Number: +3293320775; Email: info@vlesp.be

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Ghent, Belgium, 9000
    • Recruiting
    • Ghent University Hospital
    • Contact: G Portzky, MD; Email: gwendolyn.portzky@uzgent.be

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Participating in a suicide prevention training organised by 'Centrum ter Preventie van Zelfdoding' or 'Suïcidepreventiewerking Centra Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg'

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not participating in a suicide prevention training organised by 'Centrum ter Preventie van Zelfdoding' or 'Suïcidepreventiewerking Centra Geestelijke Gezondheidszorg'

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Training; This is a one-arm trial. The intervention group receives a training on suicide prevention.

Behavioral: Training on suicide prevention; Suicide prevention training in Flanders is organised by the Centre for the Prevention of Suicide and the suicide prevention workers of the Centra for Mental Health Care. These trainings are announced via the website zelfmoord1813.be/vormingen or are organized on demand. When a participant registers, they will be invited to participate in the study one week before the training.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Degree of knowledge and attitudes on suicide and suicide prevention	Self-developed questionnaire about knowledge and attitudes on suicide and suicide prevention based on the Attitudes about Suicide Scale (ATTS).	Change in knowledge and attitudes at baseline (i.e., from one week before the start of the training) compared to post-test (immediately after the training, i.e. up to 3 days) and follow-up (3 months after post-test)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Rate of responses to suicide	ONLY APPLICABLE FOR TRAININGS THAT LAST MORE THAN 3 HOURS. Questionnaire Responses to Suicide is a Dutch questionnaire (original name: Vragenlijst Reacties op Suïcidaliteit (VROS). This questionnaire assesses how appropriately someone can react to suicide. The lower the score, the better the person knows how to react.	Change in Response to suicide at baseline (i.e., from one week before the start of the training) compared to post-test (immediately after the training, i.e. up to 3 days) and follow-up (3 months after post-test)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Socio-demographic characteristics	Socio-demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and work.	Baseline (i.e., from one week before the start of the training)
Evaluation of the training	Self-developed questionnaire about how the participants experienced the training, i.e. how satisfied they were, how applicable the training was, and an overall score of the training.	Post-test (immediately after the training, i.e. up to 3 days)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Ghent
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Gwendolyn Portzky, MD, University Hospital, Ghent

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 7, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 29, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 13, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 14, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 6, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 5, 2023
• Last Verified: December 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Self-Injurious Behavior; Suicide; Suicide Prevention
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2018/1329

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No