Autopercepción de conocimientos y competencias de profesores en la prevención de conductas suicidas adolescentes pre y posintervención

Introduction: Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 15-29 years, therefore, prevention is essential. There are no programs implemented in chilean's schools to train teachers in the prevention of these behaviors. A training was designed to teachers to know if this strategy is effective in the improvement of the self-perception of competencies when facing these situations. Method: Quantitative quasi-experimental, interrupted time-series design. A questionnaire was carried out on 27 teachers from a school in San Felipe, Chile, before and after 3 months of the intervention. Their experiences, knowledge and competences on prevention of suicidal behavior were evaluated. Results: There were no significant differences in the assessment of knowledge. However, there was a significant (p < 0.05) change in self-perception of competencies in 6 items. Increased confidence and comfort in responding to these young people, the perception that juvenile suicide is a priority and requires specialized help, the feeling of having more tools and knowledge of the resources of their community. However, the sense of responsibility in the management of these adolescents had a negative change. Conclusions: The training studied that provides knowledge and strategies on adolescents' suicidal behaviors to teachers produces significant changes in self-perception of competencies, but it does not allow to establish a tendency to change. It is necessary to have other studies.