QPR Context & Purpose at Carleton

In the Spring of 2017, Carleton College was awarded a prestigious Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Grant to address suicide risk and overall mental health on campus. One specific goal of the grant is to increase all Carleton community members’ skills in recognizing suicide risk and responding appropriately. Data from Carleton’s 2017 Healthy Minds Study indicated that 14% of Carleton students experience suicidal ideation.

QPR (Question, Persuade, & Refer) is just one strategy in our plan, but we hope that it will be a starting point for any Carleton student, staff or faculty looking to understand suicide, decrease stigma around suicide, and provide appropriate help and support for anyone who may be experiencing suicidal ideation. 

How to access QPR

  1. Open either Google Chrome/Safari/FireFox web browser.
  2. Disable Pop-Ups on your browser.
  3. Speakers or headphones are required, adjust the volume accordingly (closed captioning is available for all videos).
  4. Go to the QPR Training website set up page.
  5. On this page you will be asked for the Organization Code, type “CARLETON” (case sensitive — use uppercase letters).
  6. Use your Carleton email address (will not work unless one is using a @carleton.edu email address). An email will be sent to you with your User ID and Password; save this email for future reference.
  7. On the next page, a mandatory standardized pre-survey will appear. Complete the survey.
  8. After completing the survey, the course will be ready for you to complete.
  9. The module bar at the top of page will guide you through the videos of the training
  10. You are in control of the training program and may stop and start it as you like. If you leave the program and return later, the program will return you to the beginning of the section you left, go to the QPR Training homepage to log in. The email sent to you when you created an account will have your USER ID and Password.
  11. Once you have completed a section you may return to it at any time using the top menu bar.
  12. To complete the course you must fill out a pre-course survey, post-course survey, action items, course evaluation and pass a 15-item quiz. (If you fail to pass the quiz on your first try, you may retake it as many times as you like, or retake any section of the training by clicking on the control links).
  13. After completing the course you will be given a personalized Certificate of Course Completion, it is recommended to print this certificate of completion.
  14. Upon completion of the Gatekeeper training, a copy of the QPR booklet and a wallet-sized, 3-part folding reminder card will be available for printing.

QPR Summary

Much of the world is familiar with CPR — short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation — an emergency medical intervention created in 1957 by Peter Safar. The process is designed to stabilize people who aren’t breathing or breathing intermittently, and who may be in cardiac arrest, until the person can reach a hospital or other care. Similarly, QPR is an emergency mental health intervention for suicidal persons created in 1995 by Paul Quinnett. An abbreviation for Question, Persuade and Refer, the intent is also to identify and interrupt the crisis and direct that person to the proper care. The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. The signs of crisis are all around us. QPR empowers all people, regardless of their background, to make a positive difference in the life of someone they know.