Established to advance research, both basic and applied, in suicide and suicide prevention
AISRAP secures nationally and internationally competitive research funding to pursue projects of significance to local communities, industry, and researchers. We collaborate with with local, national, and global health institutions, government, service providers, NGOs, and communties to develop suicide prevention strategies, resources and programs that ultimately improve health and wellbeing outcomes. We offer a consulting service to government and community agencies and organisations committed to suicide prevention. AISRAP publish in high quality peer-reviewed journals, present at national and international conferences, and prepare reports on projects designed to meet clients’ needs. Management of the QSR provides a primary resource for research. Staff prepare reviews and regular updates of the research literature to inform policy makers and community groups. AISRAP also provides expertise in evaluation of research and community suicide prevention activities.
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to advancing knowledge, innovation, and practices that promote holistic health and well-being.
Griffith Experts
To view our researchers and contact details please visit our staff directory here
Partnerships
AISRAP researchers collaborate with key partners committed to suicide prevention, including:
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Our projects
Queensland Suicide Register
The Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) is one of the most comprehensive suicide surveillance systems of its kind in Australia and in the Asia Pacific region, and central to many of AISRAP’s research projects. The register has over 500 variables and includes information on suspected and apparent suicides of Queensland residents since 1990 to 2018.
The interim QSR (iQSR) is a real-time suicide surveillance system developed in 2011. The iQSR includes over 100 variables and is updated weekly. The QSR/iQSR are funded by the Queensland Mental Health Commission. Our collaborators also include Queensland Coroners Court, Queensland Police Service and Queensland Health.
Suicidal Behaviours in the Western Pacific Region
Building upon our earlier influential work with the WHO/START study led by Professor Diego De Leo and as a WHO Collaborating Centre, researchers from AISRAP work closely with the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office on various research projects with the aim of strengthening evidence-based and data-informed suicide prevention activities across the region. AISRAP researchers together with the WHO have recently called for enhanced surveillance of suicidal behaviours and ideation across the region.
Recently Professor Kairi Kõlves has led the collaborative development of a framework for a regional sentinel surveillance system for suicide and self-harm prevention. AISRAP also co-ordinated a regional expert roundtable panel with interested academic, governmental, and non-governmental participants and presenters across the region. Information and past presentations are accessible to panel members.
If you are interested in joining the panel please contact Professor Kairi Kolves.
Workplace suicide prevention
AISRAP researchers have a long history of examining the association between certain occupations and suicide risk. This body of work has consistently highlighted high-risk occupations, such as the construction, agriculture, healthcare, energy, and transport sectors. Importantly, this work has contributed to the development, and continued evaluation, of tailored industry-based workplace suicide prevention and mental health promotion interventions in Australia and internationally.
AISRAP researchers have also investigated the impact of a lack of work, job insecurity, underemployment on suicidal behaviour and interventions to mitigate their impact at the individual and population level (funded by Suicide Prevention Australia). AISRAP researchers have also evaluated the effectiveness of MATES in Construction suicide prevention programs and in partnership with MATES have explored the workplace experiences of apprentices and their self-reported suicidality.
Currently, Dr Victoria Ross is leading an NHMRC-EU funding project (2020-2024) as part of a large European/Australian consortium developing and evaluating a novel digital workplace intervention for small and medium sized businesses in the construction, healthcare, and ICT sectors. To learn more about the ‘Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings’ MENTUPP Project or to have your business participate contact us.
Other recent projects have included a mixed-methods evaluation of a tailored gatekeeper training program for rural Australians and farming communities (in partnership with OzHelp and Dr Meg Perceval) and, alongside researchers from Griffith University’s Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, conducted a large-scale evidence review of workplace gatekeeper training programs (funded by the Wellcome Trust).
Risk assessment and training
In addition to providing world class postgraduate training programs in suicidology, AISRAP researchers are at the forefront of developing and evaluating suicide prevention and intervention training programs and person-centred psycho-social needs-based assessment protocols.
The ‘Systematic Tailored Assessment for Responding to Suicidality (STARS)’ developed by Jacinta Hawgood and Professor Diego De Leo is a semi-structured psychosocial assessment. The STARS is going through ongoing evaluation.
Further details can be found on STARS webpage and feel free to enquire about STARS.
First Nations
The suicide rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland is double the rate of other Australians, with young people particularly overrepresented. Indigenous suicide prevention is an important area of research for AISRAP.
AISRAP is partnering with Project Yarn Circle to support the first evaluation of an intervention using cultural education to reduce suicidality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. This project is part of Mandy Gibson's PhD research and will also explore interrelationships between reasons for living, suicidal ideation, and components of cultural connectedness such as Indigenous language use, access to Indigenous-specific health services, cultural social capital, and experiences of racial discrimination.
AISRAP has also partnered with Accoras, headspace Inala, and the Inala Elders’ Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Program to evaluate an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth suicide prevention and wellbeing service innovation project: The United Health Education and Learning Program (UHELP).
As part of their WHO CC activities, AISRAP researchers conducted a systematic review of all peer-reviewed interventions with evaluations examining changes in suicidality for all First People globally.
Suicide Bereavement and Postvention
Losing someone to suicide can have devastating effects. AISRAP researchers have investigated the processes and impacts of suicide bereavement. Professor Kairi Kolves led the ARC Discovery Project Bereavement of Suicide and Sudden Death. The first longitudinal study of people bereaved by suicide compared to sudden deaths in Australia. The study showed changes in suicide grief reactions over two years compared to other types of sudden death bereavement. The project has resulted in several papers, please contact Prof Kairi Kolves for further results and papers.
The project led to further collaboration with Postvention Australia, and to the co-development of the Postvention Australia Guidelines: A resource for organisations and individuals providing services to people bereaved by suicide in 2017. The development included the contribution of people with lived experience. The aim of the document was to provide guidelines to postvention service providers for people bereaved by suicide in Australia and is widely distributed by the main Australian suicide prevention clearance house Life in Mind as the official postvention guidelines for Australia.
Collaboration with people with Lived Experience
Learning from the lived and living experience of people who have had suicidal thoughts, survived a suicide attempt, cared for someone through suicidal crises, or are bereaved by suicide has been recognised as an essential component of effective suicide prevention strategies. People with lived experience play key role in design, delivery, implementation and evaluation of suicide prevention initiatives ranging from research through to educational and clinical activities. Since 2014, our lived experience collaborators have included Roses in the Ocean, Brook Red, Life Promotion Clinic, Queensland Children’s Hospital and others.
The AISRAP team led by Jacinta Hawgood conducted one of the first evaluations of lived experience training in the suicide prevention sector internationally; and the results reflect the first of this type in Australia. AISRAP in collaboration with Roses in the Ocean conducted the study about reasons for living of people with a lived experience entering the suicide prevention workforce.
AISRAP team developed a simple self-report scale to assess personal suicide stigma. The involvement of lived experience in the design of the scale reflects for the first time, a measure of personal suicide stigma experienced by individuals who have experienced suicidal ideation or behaviour.
COVID-19 pandemic and suicide
The COVID-19 global pandemic has been an uncertain time for all. AISRAP has been monitoring the impact of the pandemic on suicide rates in Queensland utilising the Queensland Suicide Register, as well as the impact of the early stages of the pandemic on calls to a national Kids Helpline. Importantly, AISRAP also regularly contributes suicide surveillance data to the Queensland and Commonwealth Governments and an international team of academics in an ongoing effort to analyse the changing rates of suicide globally as the pandemic continues to unfold and into the future.
Helplines research
Helplines provide an accessible, cost-effective, and anonymous help source for people who need immediate counselling and support. Oftentimes these services specifically aim to provide crisis counselling to people experiencing a suicidal crisis. The AISRAP team has long time collaboration with Lifeline and Kids Helpline (Yourtown).
Professor Kairi Kõlves is a Chief Investigator on the NHMRC Partnership Project Building a Lifeline for the Future: Expectations, innovations, outcomes led by the University of Canberra.
AISRAP researchers also conducted an in-depth study Worries of Australian children: Building research partnership for youth suicide prevention. The project involved a systematic review of youth helplines and detailed analyses of the frequency and content of Kids Helpline calls across telephone, webchat and email services.