About the course
This course aims to strengthen the capacities of primary health care providers to understand social determinants, stigma, and myths related to suicide and self-harm, and to identify, manage, and appropriately refer people at risk of suicide or self-harm, thereby supporting suicide prevention in primary health care (PHC).
Course format
Self-paced course.
Duration
10 hours.
Background and rationale
Suicide is a serious public health problem worldwide, accounting for more than 700,000 deaths each year. In the Region of the Americas, suicide rates have increased in recent decades, and it is estimated that nearly 100,000 people die by suicide each year, in addition to millions of suicide attempts. Each case has profound consequences for families, communities, and society.
Suicidal behavior is a complex and multifactorial phenomenon influenced by a range of social determinants, including age, socioeconomic conditions, education, employment, and social exclusion. However, suicide can be prevented through timely, evidence-based interventions and community support.
Significant challenges persist in the Region, including limited access to mental health services, shortages of trained personnel, stigma associated with suicide, and weaknesses in systems for reporting and managing suicidal behavior.
Recognizing this situation, the PAHO Strategic Plan 2026–2031 includes the suicide mortality rate as a key indicator aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. Likewise, the PAHO Strategy for Improving Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in the Americas includes a specific strategic line of action on suicide prevention. In this context, strengthening the capacities of health personnel—including non-specialist health workers—is a priority for improving the prevention, early identification, management, and timely referral of suicidal behavior in primary health care.
Learning objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand standardized definitions and classifications of self-harm and suicidal behavior, as well as why they constitute a public health problem.
- Identify how self-harm and suicidal behavior may present in primary health care, understand their social determinants, and recognize risk and protective factors and warning signs.
- Understand the role of primary health care providers in addressing suicidal behavior and self-harm, as well as their clinical presentations.
- Apply the communication skills needed to provide care to people presenting with self-harm or suicide risk.
- Apply strategies for assessing self-harm and suicidal behavior.
- Apply appropriate management, follow-up, and referral procedures for people presenting with self-harm or suicidal behavior.
- Analyse the role of primary health care providers in suicide prevention.
Competencies
The course provides opportunities to develop the following competencies:
- Provide comprehensive and respectful care to people at risk of suicide, ensuring their active participation, respecting their dignity, confidentiality, and privacy, and providing care free from myths, stigma, and discrimination.
- Identify, manage, and refer people presenting with self-harm, suicide risk, or suicidal behavior at the primary care level, in order to prevent suicidal behavior and contribute to reducing suicide mortality.
- Promote comprehensive suicide prevention strategies in primary health care settings.
Target audience
The course is intended for health care providers, particularly those working at the primary care level:
- Health professionals, especially those working in primary health care.
- Physicians.
- Non-physician health workers, including primary care nurses and auxiliary health personnel.
- Students of medicine, nursing, public health, and other related disciplines.
- Public health program managers.
Course structure
The course “Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention: Empowering Primary Health Care Providers” has been designed to equip health care professionals with the knowledge and skills most relevant to understanding, managing, and preventing suicide.
The course consists of seven modules:
- Module 1: Introduction to self-harm and suicide
- Module 2: Asking about self-harm and suicide and clinical presentations
- Module 3: Communication skills
- Module 4: Assessment of self-harm and suicide
- Module 5: Management of self-harm and suicide
- Module 6: Follow-up
- Module 7: Suicide prevention strategies
Course format
This is a free, self-paced course, open to the public, with no deadline for completion.
Duration
10 hours.
The course is freely accessible through the PAHO/WHO Virtual Campus for Public Health (VCPH). As a self-paced course intended for health care professionals, students, and program managers, participants can decide when and how much time to devote to completing it. An estimated 60 minutes is allocated to each module, in addition to the time required to complete the role-play exercises and corresponding assessments.
Assessment and certification
By the end of the course, participants should demonstrate overall knowledge and skills related to the prevention and management of suicidal behavior and self-harm. They should also be able to communicate non-stigmatizing prevention messages and demonstrate greater confidence in caring for people at risk of suicide.
After completing the seven modules, participants must complete a Final Assessment consisting of 20 multiple-choice questions. A score of at least 70% is required to obtain the certificate, and participants will have multiple opportunities to achieve the required score.
To obtain the course certificate, participants must meet the following requirements:
- Complete all modules.
- Successfully complete each role-play exercise.
- Successfully complete the Final Assessment.
- Complete the VCPH Quality Survey.
Participants who meet these requirements will be able to download a certificate of successful completion issued by the Pan American Health Organization.