Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
As part of SAMHSA's GLS Campus Suicide Prevention grant program, Southern Utah University's (SUU) Thriving Thunderbirds project will improve the overall mental health of SUU students (population of focus), including those at risk for suicide, depression, serious mental illness, substance use and other disorders that can lead to school failure. SUU will improve the identification and treatment of these at-risk college students so they not only survive their current circumstances but thrive as they successfully achieve their academic goals. SUU is a regional comprehensive institution in rural Utah serving approximately 14,000 primarily undergraduate and traditionally-aged students. SUU recognizes the impact COVID-19, political unrest, and international crises have had on the mental health of its students. Recent data collected by the Healthy Minds Survey illustrates the need for this project. Nearly 40% of responding students reported major or moderate depression and nearly 20% reported suicidal ideation within the past year. In Utah, the age-adjusted suicide rate is 20 per 100,000 and during the 2021-22 academic year, three SUU students died by suicide and dozens more were hospitalized for serious mental distress. The average wait time to receive individual counseling for students in distress at SUU is six weeks. Further data collected in 2021 also indicates the need for this project. When SUU partnered with the JED foundation to complete a campus audit reviewing institutional strengths and weaknesses related to the mental wellbeing of students, the result was a 15-domain strategic plan with 74 critical action items. In response to the associated recommendations from the JED Foundation, the alarming Healthy Minds data, and a high demand for individual counseling from SUU students, SUU has partnered with three new virtual mental health companies who provide valuable services for three distinct mental health acuity levels: low, moderate, and crisis. Thriving Thunderbirds will utilize grant funding to expand knowledge of and access to these new resources available to all students, including those most vulnerable to suicide and substance use disorders. It will also further expand existing resources to support the yearly objectives of the project. Yearly objectives of Thriving Thunderbirds include: (Year 1) Take a population-based health approach, increase students' mental health and substance use awareness and increase help-seeking behaviors; (Year 2) Complete the JED Campus strategic plan; and (Year 3) Employ a continuum of care model to increase utilization of mental health and substance use resources. To accomplish these yearly objectives, Thriving Thunderbirds will utilize evidence-based prevention strategies. Examples include QPR Suicide Prevention and Mental Health First Aid training for all SUU employees and students. This will significantly increase awareness of warning signs associated with suicide and substance use disorders, educate the campus community about institutional and community resources to receive treatment, and increase students' abilities to receive timely and effective care. Data collected as part of this project includes results of the upcoming Healthy Minds Survey, mental health resource utilization rates, waitlist times, the number of students seeking inpatient care for mental health, and the number of attendees at training/education/outreach events and activities. Active engagement in this project is projected at between 1,000-2,000 students and 1,100 employees each year. Passively, this project will reach 14,000+ students each year during the three year period of performance.
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).
