Preventing suicide in Montana: The implementation and analysis of an advertising campaign

The suicide rate for Montana’s youth in 2010 and 2011 was double the national average.  While Montana has a state-wide plan for suicide prevention, community-based media projects, which have a proven track record in tackling other sensitive public health issues around the nation, have not been utilized.  In order to address this public health issue among youth, ages 14 to 18, an innovative community-based media project was implemented in a rural community in Eastern Montana in 2012.  The project involved a youth theatre production, youth photography workshop, art exhibit, and social media web site designed to highlight suicide prevention resources and enable young people to discuss emotions related to suicide and depression.  Pre-test qualitative (n = 20) and pre- and post-test quantitative studies (pre-test n = 224, post-test n = 217) were conducted to evaluate the impact of this community-based media project.  Variables probed on students’ self-reported risk for depression and suicide, awareness of online and local suicide prevention resources, and willingness to engage with such resources and/or communicate with peers, family members, or mentors about suicide and depression.  A comparison between pre- and post-test showed high levels of campaign awareness, prompted and unprompted recall, and increased self-efficacy for interpersonal communication about suicide.  The findings of this project have the potential to inform future suicide prevention campaigns including the benefits of social support for adolescents in similar areas. Such interventions could include the use of family, friends, schools, communities, and social networking sites to implement the intervention.