Textual Analysis of Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention: A Sensemaking Perspective

Universities are pivotal in addressing student mental health and suicide prevention strategies. However, effective implementation often suffers from unclear communication to stakeholders. This developmental paper explores how universities in England employ communicative actions to facilitate stakeholder sensemaking around student mental health and suicide prevention implementation. Using organisational sensemaking and sensegiving as theoretical lenses, this research investigates publicly available university documents, identifying how suicide prevention cues are communicated to internal stakeholders. This study contributes to organisational sensemaking literature by highlighting how ongoing communication shapes stakeholders' understanding and involvement with preventive strategies.