Working together to prevent all student suicides
Suicide Awareness and Prevention Framework
The foundational belief of the UCalgary Suicide Awareness and Prevention Framework is that suicide deaths for individuals under the care of health systems are preventable. We aspire towards long-term system-wide transformation toward safer suicide care for our students using our seven key goals. Our mission is to prevent all suicides. The only acceptable goal is zero suicide.
UCalgary’s framework is based on the Campus Mental Health Strategy’s vision to create a caring campus community. It focuses on responsiveness and reflects principles within the Zero Suicide Framework created by the Zero Suicide Institute and the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre.
Our guiding principles
In promoting mental health as part of the Campus Mental Health Strategy, the University of Calgary aims to be:
We actively support and promote the mental health, well-being, and success of the campus community. We are an inclusive community that promotes mental health education, understanding, and awareness.
We leverage and contribute to local, national, and international evidence and perspectives to strengthen our collective capacity to support mental health.
We build capacity and strengthen ourselves to inspire further growth and innovation in promoting and supporting mental health.
We are responsive to the mental health needs of the campus community.
We commit to a culture of continuous improvement in the domain of mental health.
In addition, as a foundation for our guiding principles, UCalgary will engage with lived experience and diverse and vulnerable populations.
1. Lead
Lead a university-wide safety-orientated culture committed to suicide prevention, reducing stigma and promoting a community of caring.
2. Educate
Educate the campus community to provide competent, confident, and caring supports to encourage help seeking and help offering.
3. Identify
Identify students with suicide risk via skills training, on-line resources, and within Student Wellness Services’ initial screening and assessment.
4. Engage
Reach out and engage students through supportive outreach.
5. Assess and Guide
Assess and guide, through triaging, students at-risk of suicide; co-develop a safety plan/case management plan, or transition to community.
6. Transition
Transition students to treatment and return to campus. Engage Alberta Health Services and community-based resources to develop transition pathways between university and the community so students can be treated in the community and then smoothly transitioned back to university.
7. Improve
Improve and communicate policies, processes, and procedures through continuous quality improvement, identifying clear measures for evaluation.
- Clearly communicate all processes and associated guiding documents to the campus community and community partners.
- Develop and improve process and procedures related to suicide prevention and awareness through data-driven quality improvement & evaluation (using clear measures) and continuous quality improvement.
Advisory Committee
-
Debbie Bruckner, chair
Senior Director, Student Wellness, Access & Support
-
Andrew Szeto, PhD, co-chair
Director Campus Mental Health Strategy
-
Sandra Kadhim
Undergraduate medical student
-
Gina Dimitropoulos, PhD
Faculty of Social Work
-
Dr. Val Taylor, consultant
Head, Department of Psychiatry
-
Dr. Bev Adams, consultant
Senior Associate Dean, Education, Cumming School of Medicine
-
David Kirby
Clinical Services Manager, Distress Centre
-
Dr. Chris Wilkes
Professor, Psychiatry, Section Chief, Child & Adolescent Outpatient & Specialized Services
-
Melanie Grier
Undergraduate student, Department of Psychology
-
Mara Grunau
Director, Centre for Suicide Prevention
-
Andrew Thompson
Undergraduate student, Department of Neuroscience
-
Brittany Lindsay
Graduate student, Department of Psychology
-
Maya Sohn
Alumna, Department of Neuroscience, Graduate student, Health Sciences.
For more information, contact
Debbie Bruckner, Senior Director, Student Wellness, Access & Support
Andrew Szeto, Director, Campus Mental Health Strategy