Friday, April 26, 2024
4/26/2024
Campus Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Promotion at a Hispanic Serving Institution on the U.S.-Mexico Border The purpose of the NMSU campus suicide prevention program is to support academic success by increasing awareness of suicide prevention resources, increasing access to mental health care services, and reducing stigma associated with seeking mental health care. Centralized coordination of campus resources, establishing a network for mental health treatment and crisis response, and the addition of case management services are key components of these efforts. New Mexico State University (NMSU) is a public, Hispanic Serving Institution with a diverse population of students from historically marginalized communities. With close to 50% of undergraduates being the first in their families to attend college, NMSU’s student body has unique needs that will be identified through survey research prior to developing and implementing new suicide prevention and mental health education and outreach initiatives. New Mexico is a largely rural state with high rates of opioid and other substance abuse, mental health problems, and extreme health disparities. Since the majority of undergraduate students at NMSU are in-state residents, NMSU must assume that many students are personally affected by the health issues and disparities in the state. Project goals are to: 1) expand and coordinate campus outreach and education to increase student help seeking behaviors for mental health support, reduce substance abuse, and increase academic success, 2) increase student mental health screening to identify those at risk for depression, serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and suicide, 3) increase campus-based support services and off-campus referrals for students with alcohol and other substance use disorders and 4) enhance access to and coordination of mental health services for all college students, including those at high risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness, and/or alcohol and other substance use disorders. Project activities include enhanced health promotion and harm reduction education and outreach, increased screening for mental health problems, including suicide risk and substance use disorders, gatekeeper training for students, staff and faculty, the establishment of campus-based recovery groups, enhanced case management for students with serious mental illness, suicide attempts and substance use disorders, and programming to increase social connections and decrease negative attitudes towards seeking mental health care. Education, information, resources, and marketing campaigns will be developed with input from student leaders and other campus stakeholders. Although the entire population of undergraduate and graduate students will receive outreach about suicide prevention and mental health care resources, additional efforts will be made to engage students at high risk for suicide through targeted recruitment and marketing. These NMSU student populations include LGBTQ+, American Indian/Native American, athletes, veterans, military, and international students, as well as students with disabilities. Incoming freshmen living on campus will also be a focus of targeted interventions to enhance social connectedness and ease the transition to college life. Project outcomes will focus on accomplishment of milestones, measures of student academic success, participation in program activities, as well as student mental health and well-being. Throughout the lifetime of the project, all university students (over 11,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students) will receive messaging and information about suicide prevention and mental health services, 450 students, faculty and staff will participate in gatekeeper training, and at least 500 students will participate in additional educational programs and events.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
