Changes in suicide literacy and intentions to ask about suicide: “Community Linker” training for those supporting Aboriginal people

Objective

Gatekeeper training programs are widely used with promising results for suicide prevention. However, studies have found that when delivered to Indigenous communities, outcomes can be variable or ineffective. This study is a feasibility trial of a gatekeeper program based on the standardised ‘Question, Persuade and Refer’ (QPR) approach, which was adapted to the cultural needs of local Aboriginal communities in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia. The study aims to identify whether 1) knowledge of suicide and intentions to help increase over the course of completing the gatekeeper program; 2) participants of different educational backgrounds have similar outcomes in suicide literacy and intentions to help; and 3) Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people have similar outcomes.

Methods

One hundred individuals participated in the research, of which 50% identified as an Aboriginal person. Pre- and post-training questionnaires assessed whether participants experienced an increase in suicide literacy and intentions to support others at risk of suicide.

Results

Although pre-test scores for suicide literacy and intentions to help were high, these increased significantly from pre- to post-test. Those with no prior gatekeeper training showed larger changes in both suicide literacy and intentions to ask about suicide compared to those with prior training.

Conclusion

Overall, this study highlights that delivery of culturally adapted gatekeeper training is associated with improved suicide literacy and intentions to ask about suicide amongst trainees.