Development of suicide postvention guidelines for secondary schools: a Delphi study

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Public Health
• Crisis Intervention

Background:

• Adolescent suicide presents a significant challenge for secondary schools.
• There is a critical need for evidence-based strategies for school suicide postvention.
• Existing guidelines for responding to student suicide are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop comprehensive postvention guidelines for secondary schools using expert consensus.
• To assist schools in creating or improving their plans for responding to student suicide.
• To provide a framework for effective and safe crisis response.

Main Methods:

• The Delphi methodology was utilized, involving two stages.
• Literature searches identified potential postvention actions.
• Forty international experts rated actions via an online questionnaire over three consensus rounds.

Main Results:

• 548 actions were endorsed for inclusion based on an 80% consensus threshold.
• Actions were categorized into 20 themes, including emergency response, communication, and ongoing support.
• Experts emphasized the need for flexibility to accommodate school-specific contexts.

Conclusions:

• Schools require a range of postvention actions to respond effectively to student suicide.
• These guidelines represent the first expert-opinion-based, worldwide resource for secondary school suicide postvention.
• The developed guidelines provide a crucial tool for supporting school communities during and after a student suicide.