Together We Can
Responding to the Crisis of Youth Suicide in Rural China
Suicide has been rising and is now the leading cause of death among adolescents in China. Adolescents in rural and low-resource settings face disproportionate risk due to poverty, many being left-behind children (i.e., parent left to seek economic opportunity in urban cities), and limited educational resources and mental health support systems. In 2022, the average rural family income was under $2,800 USD per year. Despite suicide prevention being named a national priority and a law passed in 2019 requiring schools to teach psychoeducation, no evidence-based programs or curriculum exist to equip teachers and youth to address mental health and prevent suicide.
Our Research
“Together We Can” is an innovative, multi-level suicide prevention program as a result of ongoing partnership between Brown University and Tsinghua University. It empowers teachers, caregivers, and adolescents in rural China through stigma reduction, mental health literacy, and social-emotional learning tools. “Together We Can” uses co-design with adolescents, caregivers, teachers, and stakeholders in rural China, and will be the first rigorously examined curriculum for youth suicide prevention, ready to be disseminated nationally if proven to be effective.
Status of the Research
After receiving a competitive award for this award from the National Institute of Health and successful completion of year 1 of the project, this project has been suspended due to the location (i.e., China), unrelated to scientific merit or public health urgency. We had 600 adolescents and their families ready to enroll in this research. We continue to work with our collaborators, scientists, research assistants, and students both in US and China on data already collected from the first year of this research. We are in the process of searching for philanthropic solutions to continue this important research.