Background:
Consistent with the evidence-based approach of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy and the goals of the LIFE Framework, the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing has funded a project designed to identify future areas of research to be addressed in suicide prevention.
Aims:
The project aims to identify current priorities, as evidenced by research that has been funded and published over the course of the strategy (19992006), and to identify future priorities, by considering the gaps in existing research and by consulting with stakeholders.
Methods:
There are four components to the project: 1) a systematic review of the published literature, 2) a review of suicide prevention research projects funded by key granting bodies, 3) a series of stakeholder focus groups and 4) a questionnaire for representatives from key stakeholder groups.
Results:
Initial findings indicate that the majority of published literature is epidemiological, focusing on rates of suicide. There is little intervention research and little program or service evaluation. In contrast, the majority of funded projects are intervention studies. With regard to stakeholder priorities, several recurring themes emerged including the need for evaluating the efficacy of interventions, necessity of balancing individual risk factors with societal influences on suicide and the need for consideration of protective factors. The results from each component of the project will be presented in more detail.
Conclusions:
The implications of these findings for future suicide prevention research will be discussed and recommendations for a national research agenda will be made.
