Suicide Prevention

The suicide prevention research program comprises a number of discrete projects that together seek to examine the efficacy, safety and acceptability of interventions specifically designed for at-risk young people. It also has a strong focus on informing and evaluating national, and state-based, suicide prevention policy.

Around one third of deaths by people between the ages of 15 and 25 are attributed to suicide. Suicide-related behaviours are more common with lifetime rates of 17% and 30% for suicide attempts and suicidal ideation respectively. Whilst much is known about the epidemiology of suicide-related behaviour, less is known about the efficacy of interventions designed to reduce risk. This has led to a gap in knowledge that needs to be addressed in order to inform the development of evidence-based policy and clinical practice. This program seeks to address this gap.

Our current research includes:

• The Affinity Project: Feasibility trial of an integrated and adjunctive moderated online social therapy intervention with young people experiencing suicidality at the Youth Mood Clinic
• A systematic review of interventions to prevent suicide in young people
• Examining hospital presentations for self-harm: Monitoring and barriers to care
• Chatsafe: A National project engaging young people in the development of a social media-based suicide prevention campaign and evidence-based guidelines and resources on safe communication about suicide via social media
• Adaptation of “Coping with Self-harm: A Guide for Parents and Carers” for the Australian Context
• Best practice when working with young people at risk of suicide: An examination of the perspectives of young people and GPs
• Youth Life4Life: An evaluation of a community youth suicide prevention program in regional Victoria