University of Oregon

The Oregon University Suicide Prevention Project (OUSPP) represents a committed effort by a consortium of all eight public universities in Oregon to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems, thereby reducing the incidence of suicide among the 81,242 students in the consortium’s student population. The universities comprising this consortium have great need for suicide prevention programming. The OUSPP will increase awareness of suicide as a public health problem that is often preventable; increase the ability of faculty and staff to recognize and respond effectively to students at-risk of suicide; increase students’ awareness of crisis line services and treatment resources; and provide training on effective clinical and professional practices in the area of suicide prevention. Other key activities in the Project include dissemination of educational materials to students, students’ family members, faculty, and staff; provision of suicide risk assessment and intervention skills training for identified campus gatekeepers; implementation of triage forms in campus health centers that allow students at-risk to be identified and referred for treatment; and expansion of suicide prevention task forces on consortium campuses. The OUSPP will succeed in reaching its goals because of its significant human and financial resources. Counseling center directors have committed service hours from a total of 22 staff to the Project. These are staff that are already intimately familiar with student needs and campus resources.