UCalgary Suicide Awareness and Prevention Framework

Developed by the University of Calgary, the Suicide Awareness and Prevention Framework is based on the Campus Mental Health Strategy’s vision to create a caring campus community. The framework focuses on long-term system-wide transformation toward safer suicide care for students using seven key goals with the mission to prevent all suicides.

The Seven Key Goals include:

1. 1. Lead a university-wide safety-orientated culture committed to suicide prevention, reducing stigma and promoting a community of caring.
2. 2. Educate the campus community to provide competent, confident, and caring supports to encourage help seeking and help offering.
3. 3. Identify students with suicide risk via skills training, on-line resources, and within Student Wellness Services’ initial screening and assessment.
4. 4. Reach out and engage students through supportive outreach.
5. 5. Assess and guide, through triaging, students at-risk of suicide; co-develop a safety plan/case management plan, or transition to community.
6. 6. 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. 7. Improve and communicate policies, processes, and procedures through continuous quality improvement, identifying clear measures for evaluation.

The framework focuses on responsiveness and reflects principles within the Zero Suicide Framework created by the Zero Suicide Institute and the Suicide Prevention Resource Centre.

More information on the UCalgary Suicide Awareness and Prevention Framework