Ethical Implications and University

University Suicide Prevention

A local university in a mid-size city in the upper Midwest is concerned about the dramatic increase in the rates of attempted suicides and suicides. The university's health center and local health department enlisted the help of the university's student advocacy group and St. Joseph Medical Center to help identify the cause of this problem and probable solutions to it. Following a comprehensive and organized healthcare needs assessment, the LGBT community in the university is identified as the most affected group. Based on reports from the institution's health department and mental health division, increased rates of suicide attempts and suicides occur among the LGBT student community. Additionally, most of the requests in the student advocacy center for information regarding STDs, suicide, and depression have come from this community. These reports are indicators of the university's apparent failure to meet the needs of this community and require suitable measures to enhance the institution's ability of reaching the LGBT students and community.

Assessment of the Target Population

As shown in scenario, the LGBT community is the most affected group since most of the requests for information on STDs, depression, and suicide come from members of this community. Additionally, the high rates of suicide attempts and suicides are evident in this community more than any other student group in the university. One of the most important aspect towards addressing this problem is understanding the unique attributes of this population and the needs of LGBT individuals. In this case, the unique attribute regarding the LGBT community that could cause an increase in suicide attempts is mental disorders. According to Haas et al. (2011), mental disorders have been found to have a strong link to suicide attempts among adolescents and adults in the LGBT community. The increased search for information regarding depression and suicide by LBGT student community at the university is an indicator of mental or psychological problems that in turn contribute to a spike in suicide attempts. Sweet (n.d.) states that depression among the LGBT community is an indicator of mental or psychological problems whose symptoms include suicide ideation and attempts. Additionally, the rise in requests for information on STDs indicate that LGBT students are engaged in unsafe sexual behaviors and practices that are strongly associated with the mental or psychological problems and the subsequent suicide attempts. At the moment, it is relatively difficult to segment the LGBT student population because most of the requests are submitted in an anonymous fashion that makes it difficult to determine who is most at risk. Therefore, the entire population should be regarded as being most at risk of suicide attempts and suicides.

Current Marketing Strategies

Despite the increased rates of suicide attempts and suicides, the university has established marketing strategies to reach out to this community. These strategies entail the use of fliers, banner advertisements on the website, 30-second promotional spots on the university's radio station, and a 24-hour helpline and the health center. As evident in the case, these strategies have largely been ineffective in addressing the needs and issues facing the LGBT community and in turn contributed to the spike in suicide attempts and suicides among this group. These marketing strategies lack a personal touch that identifies/relates with the specific LGBT student and are seemingly superficial. The university health center has also had a low impact despite the increased requests for help because most requests are anonymous. Moreover, the health center has not adopted methods that would help address the emerging issues in a general way.

Strategies to Increase Outreach to the LGBT Community

As a result of the increased cases of suicide attempts and suicides as well as the failure of current marketing strategies, there is need to establish and utilize better strategies for reaching the university's LGBT community. One of the strategies to increase outreach to the LGBT community is conducting health fairs that target the community on a regular basis. For instance, the university has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of students attending the healthcare needs assessment meeting. This is an indicator that students are willing and ready to participate in such events in order to gain insights regarding some of the major challenges they face. Since the LGBT community is the most affected, the regular health fairs will provide an opportunity for them to receive direct help for their issues and have been identified as one of the promising practices for addressing the needs of this community (Zeno, Warren & Snyder, 2015).

The second strategy would involve conducting social marketing or awareness campaigns that offer information on available channels of help to those seeking assistance. These campaigns should be conducted regularly and involve collaborations between the LGBT student union and the university health center. The campaigns should be focused on providing messages relating to the plight of these students, the challenges they face, and where to receive help. These campaigns would help in increasing outreach to the LGBT community through providing regular reminders on how students can obtain help that is targeted to the specific issues they face. However, the costs of conducting regular health fairs and regular social marketing and awareness campaigns are relatively high. The university will need to examine the most affordable marketing suggestion to implement in order to reach out to the LGBT community.

Ethical Implications