 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Jan Borman, PhD, MPH, RN, Minnesota Nurses Assoication, 1625 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, MN 55108, 651-646-4807, borman@mn.rr.com
Youth suicide prevention programs do not reach parents successfully, although parents are the ultimate healthcare gatekeepers for suicidal youth. As minors, youth must rely on their parents to seek, consent for, and bear financial responsibility for suicide-preventing care. Because of societal ignorance and stigma, parents of suicidal youth experience denial, guilt, and fear. This can impede their willingness to seek care for their suicidal youth. To uncover information that might be useful in helping parents overcome such obstacles, an applied qualitative research design study was done, using focus group methodology. Focus groups were conducted throughout Minnesota with parents whose living child attempted suicide or suffered from serious suicidal ideation while between 12 and 18 years of age. Session transcripts underwent an inductive content analysis, using QSR NUD*IST Vivo. The resulting themes were grouped in four categories: 1) information that all parents need to know, 2) information that parents of suicidal youth need to know, 3) public health messages on youth suicide prevention, and 4) effectively delivering suicide prevention messages to parents.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Suicide, Family Involvement
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE)
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.