School of Allied Health and Community, University of Worcester, Worcestershire, United Kingdom.
College of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of Worcester, Worcestershire, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2021 May 12;16(5):e0251369. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0251369. eCollection 2021.
Wider networks of people are affected by a suicide death than originally thought, including those whose job-role brings them into contact with a death by suicide of another person. The impact of student suicide within United Kingdom (UK) Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) is unexplored and the experiences of staff members remain unknown. It is not known whether staff members have specific postvention needs following a student death by suicide. Any postvention support currently offered to staff members within UK HEIs lacks a context-specific evidence base. This study asked 'How is a student suicide experienced by staff members within a UK HEI and what are the features of that experience?' Staff members from diverse job-roles in two UK HEIs responded to a qualitative survey (n = 19) and participated in semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Data were transcribed and subjected to a constructivist grounded theory analysis. Participants' experiences informed the development of a core category: 'Bearing witness', which encompassed six further categories: 'Responding to a student suicide'; 'Experiencing a student suicide'; 'Needs and fears'; 'Experiences of support'; 'Human stories'; and 'Cultural stories'. The resulting grounded theory demonstrates how participants' perceptions of impact are informed by their experiences of undertaking tasks following a student suicide within the community of their HEI. Processes of constructing perceptions of closeness to the student who died are evident amongst participants who did not know the student prior to their death. Tailored postvention support is required to respond to the range and complexity of HEI staff needs following a student death by suicide.
比最初想象的，有更多的人会受到自杀死亡的影响，包括那些因工作角色而接触到他人自杀死亡的人。在英国（UK）高等教育机构（HEIs）内，学生自杀的影响尚未被探索，而员工的经历仍然未知。目前尚不清楚员工在学生自杀后是否有特定的善后需求。英国 HEIs 中为员工提供的任何善后支持都缺乏特定背景的证据基础。本研究询问了“在英国的一所高等教育机构内，员工是如何体验到学生自杀的，以及这种体验的特点是什么？” 来自两所英国 HEIs 的不同工作角色的员工对一份定性调查做出了回应（n = 19），并参加了半结构化访谈（n = 10）。数据被转录，并进行了建构主义扎根理论分析。参与者的经验为核心类别“见证”提供了信息，该类别包含了六个进一步的类别：“应对学生自杀”；“体验学生自杀”；“需求和恐惧”；“支持经历”；“人性故事”；和“文化故事”。由此产生的扎根理论表明，参与者对影响的看法是如何受到他们在 HEI 社区内处理学生自杀后的任务的经验影响的。在参与者中，那些在学生去世前不认识他们的人，对于与去世学生的接近程度的看法的构建过程是明显的。需要有针对性的善后支持，以满足学生自杀后 HEI 员工的各种复杂需求。
