JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for college-aged individuals worldwide and in the US. Recent studies have identified preliminary evidence of widening disparities across sex, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status among college students. Yet few systematic reviews and meta-analyses are available to offer a comprehensive understanding of on-campus and off-campus interventions with different types of screening, assessment, treatment, and postvention plans. Further challenges have been identified since the COVID-19 pandemic, calling for cost-effective and innovative interventions to address increased rates of suicidal behaviors among college students facing unprecedented stressors.

Objective:

This research protocol describes the first systematic review and meta-analysis to identify the most effective and cost-effective intervention components for universal and targeted (indicated and selected) suicide prevention among college students. Special attention is placed on disparities in suicide prevention across sociodemographic subgroups, inclusive interventions beyond campus, global context, and intervention responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods:

A sensitive search strategy will be executed across Medline (Ovid), EMBASE (Embase.com), PsycINFO (EBSCO), ERIC (EBSCO), Cochrane Library (Cochranelibrary.com), Dissertations and Theses Global (ProQuest), Scopus (Scopus.com), and Google Scholar. Data extraction and evaluation will be conducted by two independent researchers. Risk of bias will be assessed. A multilevel meta-regression model and subgroup analysis will be used to analyze the data and estimate effect size.

Results:

The search was completed in December 2020. We expect the results to be submitted for publication in mid-2021.

Conclusions:

Despite increasing rates of suicidal behaviors among college students, there are few preventative efforts targeting this population, and even less focus on health disparities and equity. The impact of COVID-19 on suicidal behaviors among college students further calls for an urgent need for rapid and effective interventions that might differ from traditional approaches. This equity-focused study will address these gaps and provide a valuable analysis of the effectiveness of suicide preventions and interventions. Findings will inform clinicians, researchers, policymakers, families, and organizations about evidence-based approaches to reducing the gaps in the suicide crisis among college students from different sociodemographic groups. Clinical Trial: PROSPERO Registration: CRD42020225429.