Suicide Prevention at the Intersection of Health Education, Social Emotional Learning, and Mental Health Literacy in Elementary Education

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dc.contributor.advisorAlonzo, Julie
dc.contributor.authorHanson, Erin
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-09T22:45:26Z
dc.date.available2024-01-09T22:45:26Z
dc.date.issued2024-01-09
dc.description.abstractThe rates of death by suicide and the prevalence of mental health conditions in children and youth are a world-wide crisis. Education and school health promotion have a key role in supporting children, however initiatives and interventions are siloed and provide supports to only a few students. In this qualitative study with quantitative components, I used a sequential exploratory research design in a three-phase process to explore how promoting a universal approach to mental health literacy (MHL) and social emotional learning (SEL) in the context of health education can bridge the suicide prevention gap that exists in elementary education. Phase one included an artifact analysis of state and district-level data addressing health education, SEL, and MHL. In phase two, I presented the findings from my artifact analysis to a district-level team. They were then asked to provide feedback on adaptations to a district revision of CDC’s Elementary School Health Index (SHI) to better support district and school-level goals (CDC, 2017). The data were collected and shared with the participants through a focus group in phase three, where they continued revising in a collaborative format. The process of adapting the SHI provided insight into how educators perceive the constructs in this study. I selected a purposeful sampling of district-level staff to participate in the survey and focus group. District-level staff were chosen based on their expertise and experience with SEL, mental health, health education, and/or intimate knowledge of student needs. All 20 participants held leadership or support positions in the district. Participants were female and four racial/ethnic groups were represented. The findings highlight the multidimensional nature of these topics. There was a general consensus that health education, MHL, and SEL can and should be aligned, but there are many factors to consider along the way to alignment. Participants spoke about professional development, accountability, equity, access, cultural responsiveness, collaboration, responsibility, roles, implementation, systems, and more. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/29158
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregon
dc.rightsAll Rights Reserved.
dc.subjectelementaryen_US
dc.subjecthealth educationen_US
dc.subjectmental health literacyen_US
dc.subjectschool healthen_US
dc.subjectsocial emotional learningen_US
dc.subjectsuicide preventionen_US
dc.titleSuicide Prevention at the Intersection of Health Education, Social Emotional Learning, and Mental Health Literacy in Elementary Education
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
thesis.degree.disciplineDepartment of Educational Methodology, Policy, and Leadership
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Oregon
thesis.degree.leveldoctoral
thesis.degree.nameD.Ed.

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