Views of Education Professionals of the Role of Schools in Addressing Suicidal Behavior at Brazilian Schools

Introduction. The suicide rate among adolescents is a public health problem in Brazil, due to the significant increase observed in attempts and deaths. Despite the recent legislation on prevention, there is a lack of effective public policies, particularly in schools. Teachers, who have direct contact with adolescents, are often ill-equipped to deal with this issue. Objective: To understand how education professionals identify the role of schools in dealing with suicidal behavior. Method: A transversal, exploratory, qualitative study. Eight public school teachers working with adolescents participated in the research. Interviews were conducted via Google Meet due to the pandemic. Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The analysis of the interviews yielded108 codes, resulting in the topic “Schools also involve the issue of affection between teachers and students.” Discussion and conclusion: The influence of the affection between teachers and students in preventing suicidal behavior was emphasized, together with the challenges schools face in addressing this issue. This study has shown that schools are key elements in protecting adolescents from suicidal behavior. However, it is essential to develop strategies that include incorporating mental health into the curriculum and teacher training.