QPR

The QPR Institute offers innovative and practical suicide prevention training programs for the general public, professionals, and institutions.  QPR training programs are available via the internet and in conventional face-to-face formats.  For more information, please visit the QPR web site at:  www.qprinstitute.com

QPR stands for Question, Persuade and Refer, an emergency mental health intervention that teaches lay and professional gatekeepers to recognize and respond positively to someone who may be exhibiting suicide warning signs and behaviors.

How is QPR like CPR?

CPR stands for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, an emergency medical intervention created by Peter Safar in 1957. CPR is part of the "Chain of Survival" model of emergency cardiac care. The likelihood that a victim will survive a cardiac arrest increases when each of the following four links is connected:
* Early recognition of warning signs
* Early CPR .
* External defibrillator
* Early Advanced Life Support and access to medical treatment

QPR is designed to work like CPR. QPR teaches potential gatekeepers how to recognize, intervene, and refer at-risk youth for professional evaluation and help. For QPR to be effective the following four links in a chain of survival must also be in place:
* Early recognition of suicide warning signs. The sooner warning signs are detected, the sooner an intervention can be initiated.
* Early QPR . Directly asking someone emitting suicide warning signs opens a potentially life-saving, caring dialogue which may a) immediately reduce anxiety and distress and b) enhance protective factors to decrease risk factors, e.g., restore hope, decrease isolation, and increase social and spiritual support while removing the means of suicide.
* Early referral . Linking the at-risk person to local resources or calling 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-273-TALK for evaluation is essential to reducing immediate risk.
* Early professional assessment and treatment. As with any life-threatening crisis or illness, early detection, assessment and treatment result in reduced morbidity and mortality.

The goal of QPR training is to enhance the probability that a potentially suicidal youth is identified and referred for assessment and care before a suicide attempt or completion occurs. Based on self-reported student survey information in one large school system, an estimated 6 percent all students report "harboring significant thoughts and/or plans about suicide" over a 12-month period, but no more than 5 percent of these suicidal children were actually identified and referred for care by school staff. Thus, most youth at risk for suicide suffer in silence and go undetected and untreated.

When QPR is applied as it is taught, it delivers a strong and positive response to someone showing warning signs of a pending suicide event. Just as the prompt recognition of the scream of a smoke detector can eliminate the need to suppress a raging fire, so too can the early recognition of suicide warning signs, confirming their presence, and opening a supportive, caring dialogue with a suicidal youth prevent the need for an emergency room visit or a psychiatric hospitalization. The interaction between a trained and caring adult gatekeeper and an at-risk youth may lead to improving protective factors, enhancing knowledge and decision making, and building resiliency to deal with conflicts and challenges in healthier ways.

QPR is currently being investigated for effectiveness in a wide variety of settings and in several major research projects funded by the U.S. Government. The potential of gatekeeper training programs has been documented as a promising tool in school settings to enhance intervention for youth at elevated risk for suicide. Research findings are encouraging with regard to enhanced knowledge, improved attitudes, preparation for coping with a crisis, and referral practices.