Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP)
The Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention and winner of the 14th Annual LiFE Award recognising excellence in suicide prevention research.
AISRAP provides education and accredited training for health and allied professionals, offering postgraduate programs in suicidology (Certificate, Master and Master with Honours). The Institute manages a research facility providing outpatient treatment for people with suicidal ideation and/or recent history of suicidal behaviour (Life Promotion Clinic). Each arm of AISRAP (Research/Clinical/Training) is important in providing a comprehensive understanding of suicidal behaviour.
About
Audiences
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- Adults
- Older persons
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people
- Carers
- Clinicians
- Community
- Families
- LGBTI People
- Lived experience
- Men
- Women
- People with an increased risk of suicide
- People who have attempted suicide
- People bereaved by suicide
- People experiencing mental illness
- Regional and remote communities
- Farming communities
- Veteran
- Workforce
Activities
- Conducts Research
- Provides Factsheets
Organisation Type
- Clinical
- Research
- University or tertiary education
Affiliations
- Menzies School of Health Research
Our Resources
Postvention Australia Guidelines: A resource for organisations and individuals providing services to people bereaved by suicide
Suicidal Behaviors in Men: Determinants and Prevention in Australia
Male suicide rates are almost universally higher than those of females around the world. In Australia, death by suicide is three- to four-times more common in men than in women, although women engage in more non-fatal suicidal behaviours. Specific male groups—such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, men of sexual minorities, old and young men, and men working in stressful conditions or who are imprisoned—are at even greater risk of suicide.
This report investigates the phenomenon of suicidal behaviour in men. It presents current research on factors behind male vulnerability to suicide, how male suicides can be prevented, and activities currently undertaken that aim to reduce suicidal behaviours, with a focus on Australian males.
Suicide in Indigenous Populations of Queensland
The main objective of this study was to describe and analyse the trends and characteristics of suicides among the Indigenous population of Queensland. Specific outcomes of the report include: 1. a review of the international and Australian literature on epidemiology and
characteristics of Indigenous suicide, focusing on historical, social and cultural
issues and the impact of suicide contagion 2. analysis of the extensive data on all suicide cases collected through the Queensland Suicide Register from 1994 to 2006, comparing the trends of suicide mortality and key characteristics of Indigenous and non-Indigenous suicides 3. enhanced understanding of the particularities of suicidal behaviours to enable policy interventions for communities
Suicide in Queensland: Annual Report 2019
The Suicide in Queensland Annual Report 2019 (Suicide in Queensland) provides recent suicide trends in Queensland to help target and inform suicide prevention activities in Queensland by understanding the circumstances in which suicides occurred. This report focuses on information from the years 2013 to 2018. The information comes from a public health surveillance system - the Queensland Suicide Register (QSR) and the interim Queensland Suicide Register (iQSR).
Citation: Leske, S., Crompton, D., & Kõlves, K. (2019). Suicide in Queensland: Annual Report 2019. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University.
Suicide in Rural and Remote Areas of Australia
Australia’s rural localities face an increasing burden of death due to suicide. This report examines suicide in regional and remote Australia and aims to provide a better understanding how the rural cultural paradigm affects suicidal behaviours so we may develop and implement appropriate and effective suicide prevention strategies. In this way, those people most vulnerable can be protected from the tragedy of suicide.
Suicide Research: Selected Readings - Volumes 1-16
A critical literature review series from 2008 to 2016, outlining recent advances and promising developments in international research in suicide prevention published in English in international peer-reviewed journals. The main aim of the Selected Readings volumes was to collate all newly released publications (research articles, editorials, letters, and case reports) that explicitly refer to fatal and/or non-fatal suicidal behaviours and related issues. Particular attention was paid to new promising lines of suicide research that carried potential for practical implications in the Australian context.
The impact of workplace bullying on mental health and suicidality in Queensland construction industry apprentices
In 2006 the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP) produced a report highlighting that suicide was 2.38 times higher amongst young workers in the Queensland construction industry. This finding has been validated by research by Deakin University in 2016 and 2017.
The final report based on research of 1483 Queensland apprentices are now public.
Zero Suicide Healthcare Training
STARS is a person-centred, psycho-social needs-based semi-structured interview. It was developed to provide an initial insight into the complex world of a suicidal person to inform immediate collaborative and compassionate care.
The purpose of STARS is to:
a) enhance worker understanding of the client's story by enticing worker reflection on the client rated concerns of factors contributing to the suicidal state and experience.
b) assist and guide workers on ways to elicit key client reported concerns subjectively perceived to contribute to suicidality.
c) provide workers with guiding domains of enquiry concerning empirically based risk and protective factor information, short-term proximal indicators of suicide risk (e.g. warning signs), and current and past suicidality contexts (based on the subjective meaning of these factors for the client).
The training consists of six modules:
1. Lived experience and worker attitudes
2. A renewed approach to risk assessment
3. Structure and application of STARS (Parts A, B, C and Clinical Notes) – this module involves education around uncovering suicide intent.
4. Safety planning
5. Duty of care and documentation
6. Self care skills-based role-plays for demonstration of competency are heavily emphasised, with formative assessment opportunities as well as a final review.
Please note: Training programs listed are accessed at the user's discretion and are not endorsed by Zero Suicide Institute of Australasia nor Life in Mind.
ZSH Element
- Train
- Identify
- Engage
Audience
- Allied Health Clinician
- Support and Outreach
Focus Area
- Collaborative safety planning for suicide
- Communicating with patients about suicide
- Crisis response procedures and de-escalation techniques
- Determining appropriate levels of care for patients at risk of suicide
- Family, caregiver, and community supports
- Identifying risk factors for suicide
- Identifying warning signs for suicide
- Reducing access to lethal means outside the care environment
- Suicide risk formulation practices
- Suicide screening practices
- Suicide-specific treatment approaches
- Understanding and navigating ethical and legal considerations
Course Type
- Online/e-Learning
- Face-to-face
Cost
- Fee for service
Location
- National