Project Description
The objectives of this project are threefold:
(1) to ascertain the body of knowledge and skills taught to social work students across the country on the topic of suicide prevention.
(2) to evaluate this body of knowledge and skillsets; and
(3) to determine what new knowledge and skills could be incorporated into social work education and training on suicide to achieve best practices.
The methodology tied to each respective objective is:
(1) to conduct online searches (e.g., via course catalogs, posted syllabi, etc.) of social work programs across the country that include suicide prevention content in coursework and/or that include a standalone course on suicide and collate this information;
(2) to perform a content analysis of the collected information to determine thematic features and patterns; and
(3) to make recommendations of best practices in teaching suicide prevention as demonstrated by curriculum content, peer-reviewed articles, etc.
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student will be responsible for developing a digital file system to store the collected information and will present their work progress at regularly scheduled meetings. Tasks include obtaining relevant content and/or syllabi, reviewing gathered information and materials on suicide prevention, participating in qualitative analysis through development of codes, working with other researchers on the project through an iterative process to develop thematic representations of content, and organizing content thematic findings in table form. Other tasks include conducting/updating a literature review and curriculum content on suicide prevention that will be used to develop a potential grant application and a manuscript.