An evaluation of suicide prevention education for people working with refugees and asylum seekers

Procter, N., Posselt, M., Ferguson, M., McIntyre, H., Kenny, M.A.ORCID: 0000-0002-5352-7549, Curtis, R., Loughhead, M., Clement, N. and Mau, V. (2021) An evaluation of suicide prevention education for people working with refugees and asylum seekers. Crisis, 43 (3).

Abstract

Background: There are concerning rates of suicidality among asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, and tailored suicide prevention initiatives are needed. Aims: We aimed to evaluate the impact of a tailored suicide prevention education program for people working with asylum seekers and refugees. Method: Attendees of the education program completed self-report questionnaires at pretraining, posttraining, and 4–6 months follow-up. Results: Over 400 workers, volunteers, and students across Australia took part in the education program. A series of linear mixed-effects models revealed significant improvements in outcome measures from pretraining (n = 247) to posttraining (n = 231). Improvements were maintained at follow-up (n = 75). Limitations: Limitations of this research were the lack of a control group and a low follow-up response rate. Conclusion: Findings suggest that a 2 days tailored suicide prevention education program contributes to significant improvements in workers’ attitudes toward suicide prevention, and their confidence and competence in assessing and responding to suicidal distress.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation(s):	School of Law
Publisher:	hogrefe eContent
Copyright:	© 2021 The Authors.
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/60958

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