Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training for Certified Flight Instructors at a State

Background: Several studies have reported airline pilots with depressive symptoms, including suicidal thoughts, operating aircraft, but none have examined the mental health of aviation students prior the students becoming pilots. Furthermore, although suicide gatekeeper training has been recommended in university settings, implementation in aviation departments has not been studied. The purpose of this project was to expand gatekeeper training in the aviation department of a university to increase instructor confidence and suicide-risk factor awareness and thereby early mental health interventions for their at-risk students. Methods: Baseline flight instructor knowledge of suicide-risk factors and mental health resources were analyzed, and Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) gatekeeper training was identified as an effective educational model to teach flight instructors. QPR was implemented for all education levels of flight instructors (n=17), and a postgatekeeper training survey was completed and compared to the pre-gatekeeper training survey to measure effectiveness of the training. Results: Eight of nine survey questions, regarding topics such as confidence in talking with a suicidal individual, resources for mental health, university policy for a suicidal student, importance of mental health, and previous suicide prevention courses, were statistically significant in favor of QPR gatekeeper training, with p-values <0.01 in pre vs post survey questionnaires. The most dramatic results were for questions concerning the confidence of flight instructors in talking about suicide with others, mental health resources available to refer someone, and university policy on dealing with a suicidal student. Conclusions: This project was effective in improving flight instructors' confidence in talking with suicidal individuals and providing referral information. The cost of training for the university is low given the certification ability of the trained QPR instructor. It is recommended that QPR training be implemented in other university aviation departments based on the positive outcomes of this project.