[Suicide prevention training for youth care professionals]

Suicidality is common in youth care and has a major impact on young people, parents and professionals. The number of suicides among young people (10-25 years) in the Netherlands has risen in recent years from 103 suicides in 2008 to 159 suicides in 2019, with a high of 169 suicides in 2017. Many youth care professionals experience timidity in dealing with suicidal behaviour.

To investigate whether suicide prevention training leads to an improvement in knowledge, skills and self-confidence in dealing with suicidal behavior in young people.

Professionals working at a national youth care institution participated in suicide prevention training. Before and immediately after the training they completed questionnaires to measure their knowledge, skills and self-confidence in the field of suicide prevention.

There was an improvement in knowledge, skills and self-confidence of youth care professionals after the training. In particular, more knowledge about suicide prevention led to more self-confidence. The change was equal in the different forms of care. Scientifically trained and higher educated professionals showed a less strong change in their competencies than secondary educated professionals. The change in knowledge and skills was less pronounced the older the professionals were.

Participation in suicide prevention training led to more knowledge, skills and self-confidence of youth care professionals in dealing with suicidal behaviour.