Purpose Presentations to healthcare settings increase prior to suicide, making healthcare professionals optimally positioned to intervene. However, health and social care students receive insufficient training on engaging with individuals at risk of suicide or self-harm. This study aims to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing a suicide prevention module within undergraduate health and social care education. Design/methodology/approach A World Café methodology facilitated contributions from health and social care academics, researchers, students and representatives from governmental and non-governmental organisations. Participants took part in four rounds of structured discussion to identify key barriers and enablers to the implementation of an undergraduate healthcare suicide prevention training module. Data were gathered through a combination of group facilitator written notes and audio recordings. An online qualitative survey of participants who could not attend in-person supplemented the findings. A thematic analysis, following Braun and Clarke’s approach, was conducted. Findings A total of 24 individuals took part, including 17 World Café participants and seven survey respondents. Analysis revealed four overarching themes: (i) a blended, integrated, sustainable model; (ii) accredited and incentivised course; (iii) an evidence and policy-based offering and (iv) a student-centred approach. Research limitations/implications Findings have identified barriers and facilitators to implementation of an undergraduate suicide prevention module embedded within professional and institutional frameworks. Practical implications Key recommendations include adopting a blended delivery model, offering formal recognition for learning and utilising a train-the-trainer approach to ensure future sustainable scalability. Social implications This work highlights the value of evidence-informed curriculum innovation to address a critical gap in undergraduate suicide prevention education and prepare health and social care students for compassionate, real-world practice. Originality/value These findings have served to since inform the pilot module rollout and design of a train-the-trainer programme for this education nationally, with international collaborations also established for wider adaptation and delivery.
O’Driscoll et al. (Mon,) studied this question.