Graduate students self-report symptoms of depression, anxiety, and burnout at a rate up to six times higher than average (Charles et al., 2022; SenthilKumar et al., 2023). In particular, students from marginalized backgrounds, including first-generation, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ students, are more likely to report poor mental health (Lipson et al., 2018; Przedworski et al., 2015; Wang et al., 2022). These mental health outcomes are inversely associated with academic retention and correlated with suicide risk (Riera-Serra et al., 2023; SenthilKumar et al., 2023). Research among graduate students highlights the effects of the academic environment on mental health, with poor faculty mentorship, institutional discrimination, and a non-supportive departmental climate representing key risk factors (Charles et al., 2023). On the other hand, robust social support and community cohesion are protective for student well-being. These risk and protective factors are malleable in a higher education context. By applying lessons from public health that advance multi-sector mobilization of community, organizational, and interpersonal resources for prevention, faculty, staff, and students can cultivate a positive environment that proactively reduces risk and builds capacity for wellness (Pirkis et al., 2024).
Promoting Community Conversations About Research to End Suicide (PC CARES) is a research-informed, community-led intervention that takes a public health approach. Co-created with Alaska Native wellness advocates, PC CARES builds on the protective capacities of community to promote well-being and mitigate suicide risk through everyday strategies and local policies. The approach involves a series of five workshops aimed at developing shared knowledge and collaborative relationships that enable participants to solve problems in difficult situations, innovate based on their social roles, and proactively support mental wellness (Trout et al., 2018). By attending these interactive workshops over time, participants co-create “communities of practice” (CoP) which foster multi-sector community-driven prevention efforts (Wexler et al., 2016). Evaluation research on PC CARES has demonstrated pre-to-post test increases in suicide prevention knowledge, self-efficacy, and preventative actions taken among participants (N=541) when compared to others unexposed to the intervention (Wexler et al., 2018; Wexler et al., 2019; Wexler et al., 2025; White et al., 2022). Outcomes of PC CARES also include social diffusion of learning—a mechanism of CoP—meaning participants shared what they learned with those close to them, amplifying impact. In 2024, PC CARES was recognized as a Suicide Prevention Best Practice by the federally funded Suicide Prevention Resource Center.
From August 2024 to January 2025, PC CARES was implemented at the University of Michigan with a cohort of staff, researchers, and graduate students to assess the program’s salience within a university context, and it was well-received—offering new collaborative opportunities for prevention. The proposed research-to-practice session will extend this approach through an interactive workshop that shares strategies for active and supportive listening for wellness among students, staff, and faculty—laying the groundwork for a multi-sector Rackham CoP. Based on principles of adult learning and community organizing, PC CARES workshops share best practices and ask participants to discuss and brainstorm ways to apply their takeaways. Participants will leave the session understanding complementary perspectives on suicide prevention, local survey data on student connectedness, and how to practice reflective listening.
