Survey of barriers and facilitators for the surveillance of suicide and self-harm in the school context

Abstract

The Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention Policy specifies the mandatory reporting by educational institutions to strengthen surveillance and prevention of such behaviors. Health surveillance makes it possible to monitor occurrences, identify risk factors, and implement prevention strategies, ensuring adequate support for vulnerable students. However, few actions have been observed in this context, resulting in low adherence to reporting and weakening care for cases. Recognizing the importance of understanding influences on the implementation of health practices, this study aims to identify the barriers and facilitators to the reporting of self-inflicted violence in the school context. This is a descriptive, exploratory study with a qualitative approach, based on the Theoretical Domains Framework. This study is part of a research project that will identify the barriers and facilitators from the health, social assistance, child and adolescent protection, and education sectors, with education being the main focus of this study. Data will be collected through three focus groups with 1) adolescents enrolled in a municipal school, 2) their families, and 3) school professionals within the coverage area of São Paulo. Participants will be selected via invitation through communication from the project's partner institutions. Data will be collected through audio recordings, which will later be transcribed and analyzed using Thematic Analysis. The results have the potential to identify modifiable influences, promoting the development and implementation of practices that can help strengthen the reporting, care, and prevention of self-inflicted violence among children and adolescents in the school context.