Public involvement in suicide prevention: understanding and strengthening lay responses to distress
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
Suicide prevention is everybody?s business. Previous research has concentrated heavily on the contribution that doctors and health professionals can make, due to the fact that those who take their own lives are usually suffering from a treatable mental disorder. Attention has also focused on government initiatives to make methods of suicide less accessible, for example by reducing the pack sizes of paracetamol and other commonly used drugs. These measures are helpful, but we also need to be looking at the contribution that ordinary people can make.
Relatives, friends and colleagues are usually the first to know when someone is deeply troubled or distressed. They may think it is ?perfectly normal in the circumstances? (after a relationship breakdown, for instance) and assume that the person will get over it in time. Most of us do eventually recover from setbacks, but some do not. Relatives and friends need to make judgements about the seriousness of the distress, about how to respond to it and about whether to seek professional help. These are difficult and complex decisions, and we know very little about how people make them and how they can be better equipped to do so.
By studying in detail the circumstances surrounding particular suicides and asking relatives and friends about the way in which they understood what was going on, we hope to illuminate this neglected area. We will study 30 cases of suicide, in each case interviewing 3-4 people in order to build up a balanced picture. We will interview the deceased?s doctor, as well as family and friends, to try to identify ways in which lay people and professionals can work together to support a suicidal individual.
We aim to discover: who was in contact with the deceased; how aware they were of his/her distress and how they interpreted it; what actions they took, and what additional knowledge, skills and support might have enabled them to manage the situation differently and possibly prevent a fatal outcome.
The findings will give us a better understanding of the role that families, friends and others can play in identifying and supporting suicidal individuals, and will enable us to develop initiatives to promote public mental health awareness.
The team consists of researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter and at the Universities of Bristol and Swansea, together with a representative of PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide).
Relatives, friends and colleagues are usually the first to know when someone is deeply troubled or distressed. They may think it is ?perfectly normal in the circumstances? (after a relationship breakdown, for instance) and assume that the person will get over it in time. Most of us do eventually recover from setbacks, but some do not. Relatives and friends need to make judgements about the seriousness of the distress, about how to respond to it and about whether to seek professional help. These are difficult and complex decisions, and we know very little about how people make them and how they can be better equipped to do so.
By studying in detail the circumstances surrounding particular suicides and asking relatives and friends about the way in which they understood what was going on, we hope to illuminate this neglected area. We will study 30 cases of suicide, in each case interviewing 3-4 people in order to build up a balanced picture. We will interview the deceased?s doctor, as well as family and friends, to try to identify ways in which lay people and professionals can work together to support a suicidal individual.
We aim to discover: who was in contact with the deceased; how aware they were of his/her distress and how they interpreted it; what actions they took, and what additional knowledge, skills and support might have enabled them to manage the situation differently and possibly prevent a fatal outcome.
The findings will give us a better understanding of the role that families, friends and others can play in identifying and supporting suicidal individuals, and will enable us to develop initiatives to promote public mental health awareness.
The team consists of researchers at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter and at the Universities of Bristol and Swansea, together with a representative of PAPYRUS (Prevention of Young Suicide).
Technical Summary
BACKGROUND: Suicide is a major public health issue. Around 5,000 people take their own lives in England every year, the majority being young, physically healthy adult males. To date, attention has focused heavily on the role of healthcare professionals in suicide prevention and on measures to restrict access to means. Little consideration has been given to the role that lay people can play by supporting distressed relatives and friends, or to the resources they need in order to do so.
AIMS: To understand the contribution that relatives, friends and other members of the public can make to suicide prevention; to identify the knowledge, skills and support they need in order to contribute effectively, and to inform the development of interventions to promote community-wide involvement in suicide prevention.
DESIGN: Qualitative study using multiple case study design and triangulation of evidence from several informants.
SETTING: SW England and S Wales.
METHOD: Thirty cases of suicide aged 18-34 will be investigated. Data will be gathered by means of semi-structured interviews with relatives, friends and others who knew the deceased well, including the general practitioner. For each case, 3-4 informants will be sought. Interviews will explore the family and social networks of the deceased, the ways in which relatives and friends interpreted and responded to his/her distress, the potential for intervention that may have existed within the lay network, and the knowledge and resources that would have helped members to support the distressed individual more effectively.
BENEFITS: The study will inform the development of a comprehensive approach to the prevention of suicide that recognises and capitalises on the efforts of lay people. Findings will form the basis for interventions to promote public involvement in suicide prevention.
AIMS: To understand the contribution that relatives, friends and other members of the public can make to suicide prevention; to identify the knowledge, skills and support they need in order to contribute effectively, and to inform the development of interventions to promote community-wide involvement in suicide prevention.
DESIGN: Qualitative study using multiple case study design and triangulation of evidence from several informants.
SETTING: SW England and S Wales.
METHOD: Thirty cases of suicide aged 18-34 will be investigated. Data will be gathered by means of semi-structured interviews with relatives, friends and others who knew the deceased well, including the general practitioner. For each case, 3-4 informants will be sought. Interviews will explore the family and social networks of the deceased, the ways in which relatives and friends interpreted and responded to his/her distress, the potential for intervention that may have existed within the lay network, and the knowledge and resources that would have helped members to support the distressed individual more effectively.
BENEFITS: The study will inform the development of a comprehensive approach to the prevention of suicide that recognises and capitalises on the efforts of lay people. Findings will form the basis for interventions to promote public involvement in suicide prevention.
