News

The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society has released eight briefing papers on LGBTQA+ mental health and suicidality across Australia, using data from three community surveys. Each paper examines rates of suicidality, mental ill-health, healthcare access, and risk and protective factors at the state or territory level.

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Dr Nikki Jamieson shares insights on how moral injury contributes to the complexity of suicide for serving and ex-serving defence personnel.

A pilot program testing the effectiveness of Villy, a new app that aims to support the mental health of current and ex-serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and their families, is underway in Darwin with national expansion planned in the near future.

Transitioning from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to civilian life can be challenging and impact on mental health and wellbeing. Open Arms offers free and confidential counselling, treatment programs, workshops and self-help tools for Navy, Army and Air Force personnel, veterans and their families to support transition from the ADF to civilian life.

In partnership with the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention at Griffith University, and La Trobe University, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has commenced research activity to determine risk and protective factors for suicidal behaviours in a military setting.

A free toolkit is available for Primary Health Networks (PHNs) to support Australian Defence Force (ADF) veterans living in their health network region. The toolkit guides PHNs in establishing the needs of veterans residing in their area and practical actions they can take to support the prevention of suicide for ADF veterans.

Veterans and their families can access free mental health literacy and suicide prevention training through the Mental Health Protect program, launched by Mental Health First Aid International. Anyone in the mental health and suicide prevention sector that works directly with veteran communities is eligible to participate in free Mental Health First Aid and LivingWorks training.

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The recent publication, ‘Women in Suicide Prevention Research’ supports broader discussion about the ways gender roles impact career advancement for women in research. Author Dr Piumee Bandara shares her insights about gender disparities in suicide prevention research leadership.