Introduction:

Suicide is defined by the World Health Organization as "the deliberate act of taking one's own life". Suicidal behavior covers a wide spectrum, from suicidal ideation to the attempt and completion of the act.

Objective:

To determine the effects of an educational intervention on the level of knowledge of suicidal behavior in adolescents and young people.

Methods:

We conducted an educational intervention study aimed at adolescents and young people, belonging to the health area of the Bayamo Oeste teaching polyclinic, in the period between April 2010 and March 2011. Through questionnaires, we identified the suicidal risk within the participants, as well as the level of knowledge about the subject; from this, educational teaching activities were developed with topics related to suicide. The data obtained were processed through the SPSS and absolute frequencies and percentages were used as summary measures of quantitative variables.

Results:

11 participants with suicidal risk were identified. More than 80% of the study group showed new knowledge after the educational intervention was applied.

Conclusions:

The educational intervention was designed and effectively applied which allowed to increase the level of knowledge about suicidal behavior in adolescents and young people.

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