Projects / Programmes
Slovene men who are exposed to suicidal behaviour: mental health, quality of life, social connectedness, and help seeking. An action research program.
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.09.00 |
Social sciences |
Psychology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S260 |
Social sciences |
Psychology |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.01 |
Social Sciences |
Psychology and cognitive sciences |
suicide, men, mental health, prisoners, LGBTI, older adults
Researchers (11)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
THE BURDEN OF SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR
Suicide is a major public-health problem, globally and in Slovenia (Roškar et al, 2015). It is the 14th leading cause of death in the world, accounting for 1.4% of all deaths (WHO, 2016). Mental health problems are among the most important risk factors for suicide.
Some groups are at higher risk for mental health problems and suicide than others, there are even large differences between genders. Suicide rate is on average 3 times higher among men worldwide and in Slovenia (WHO, 2016). Among groups with increased risk are prisoners (Barker et al, 2014), LGBTI population (Skerrett et al, 2015, 2016) and older adults (De Leo et al, 2013) due to specific risk factors which increase vulnerability.
PROJECT AIMS AND ACTIVITIES
The proposed project aims to improve the understanding of suicide-related mental health characteristics as well as factors, such as quality of life, interpersonal relationships, stigma and help-seeking in Slovene men, namely:
men with mental health problems,
prisoners,
LGBTI individuals,
older adults.
We will conduct quantitative (using questionnaires) and qualitative (implementing interviews, focus groups) studies, providing triangulation of methods in order to deepen the knowledge of risk and protective factors in these groups.
Suicide prevention activities can be divided into four levels (Van der Feltz-Cornelis et al, 2011):
responsible media reporting about suicide, raising awareness,
restriction of means for suicide,
preventive activities in local communities, working with at-risk groups,
education of gatekeepers.
The importance of using multilevel interventions (such as implementing both promotion and different types of prevention activities; integrating activities from different types of abovementioned levels) has been highlighted in suicidology (Harris et al, 2016).
The proposed project will advance the existing knowledge regarding suicide prevention in the selected at-risk groups at these levels. The results will provide further in-depth knowledge, which will be, if the studies show it to be relevant, directly transferred into practice by implementing interventions for the vulnerable groups. Our multilevel approach will be based on the newly gained knowledge regarding how to tailor the interventions to the needs of the selected vulnerable groups. It will include publishing information, e.g. in the form of flyers or booklets and online, working with the media, empowering vulnerable groups, and educating gatekeepers.
RELEVANCE
Suicidal behaviour has many consequences for the society, e.g. high costs of healthcare interventions, absence from work, bereavement due to suicide etc. Scientifically supported efforts towards suicide prevention are of crucial importance since they can help diminish negative consequences of suicide.
The selected at-risk groups have a much higher suicide rate than general population. However, they are under-studied in Slovenia. There is a lack of knowledge regarding risk factors for suicide in men (e.g. mental health characteristics). Many men who die by suicide don’t show usual signs of depression or actions indicating suicidality and are overlooked (Lyberg Rasmussen et al, 2014).
This project will provide better understanding of suicidal behaviour among Slovenian men. The findings could contribute to a more efficient detection of men at highest risk for suicide, and to development of effective preventive activities which will improve the quality of interventions offered to selected at-risk groups of men, with the long term goal of contributing to lowering the suicidal behaviour in frequency among them.
FEASIBILITY
The project will be partially conducted in cooperation with external institutions (University Medical Centre Maribor, National administration for the execution of punishment etc). The cooperation with most of them is already established and we believe that successful collaboration will be maintained and extended wi
Significance for science
The proposed study will provide several opportunities to gain original results and insights. It will give us the possibility to narrow the research focus of universal suicide prevention to a more indicated level within specific groups and study them in detail, which was not done prior to this study. The research will help us understand the specifics of risk factors within selected groups in Slovenia. The collected data will allow verification of theoretical constructs in the groups in which these assumptions have not yet been verified, which will have great importance for the development of science in this field. In addition, the findings serve as the basis for the creation/adaptation interventions tailored to these groups.
The study is designed in a way to ensure triangulation of research methods, including qualitative and quantitative research principles. The advantage of this approach is that it combines the strengths of individual methods and is better able to overcome their limitations. This way we will gain different, but complementary data on our research problem, which will enable us to understand it better. Although triangulation of methods is an important way of deepening the knowledge on research topics, it is rarely done in research practice, which is another aspect of the importance of our project’s contribution to the scientific field of suicidology.
The originality of expected outcomes can serve as the starting point in the development of the interventions targeting these groups. On the basis of the results we will decide whether it is necessary to develop and implement new interventions for our target groups and if so, what kind of interventions should be developed and implemented. The newly gained knowledge can thus potentially contribute to new ways of delivering psycho-educational workshops, development of original new printed materials and website contents targeting selected groups, and to the establishment of new services and innovative ways for men to use mental health resources. This is a very original aspect of the project and it has a potentially important impact both on the scientific field of suicidology and on the society as a whole.
On average, every suicide affects six proxies (the so-called “suicide survivors”) and represents a psycho-social, economic and financial burden for the whole society. The consequences of suicide can therefore be perceived at many levels – subjective consequences are felt by suicide survivors, and objective consequences at the societal level. The numerous consequences of suicide range from those that are measurable (costs of healthcare interventions, absence from work etc.) to those immeasurable (mental distress among people who attempt suicide and among people, bereaved due to suicide). Therefore, scientifically supported efforts towards suicide prevention are of crucial importance in Slovenia, which is among the countries with highest suicide rates in the world.
Significance for the country
The proposed study will provide new culturally significant in-depth understanding of suicidal behaviour in vulnerable groups of men, since this kind of research has not been done in Slovenia before. We will study the characteristics of suicidal behavior in men belonging to the selected vulnerable groups. We will use triangulation of research methods, which will enable us to expand the existing knowledge of risk and protective factors by testing the assumptions in specific vulnerable groups using quantitative methods and deepen it at the same time using qualitative methods.
Another important aspect of the proposed project is the establishment of an interdisciplinary expert group. This group will contribute significantly to connecting between professionals (gatekeepers), who are working in different fields and with different groups of people with increased risk for suicide, among each other. In order to advance our efforts in suicide prevention we believe there is a need for more direct and efficient knowledge transfer and cooperation between people with different backgrounds and experiences. This kind of cooperation and integration of knowledge will be an important step towards a more multimodal suicide prevention in Slovenia.
The findings will be directly transferred into practice, since we will use the gained knowledge to develop and/or further improve the existing preventive activities, if the need for this will be seen from the gathered data. In order to promote mental health and implement universal prevention, we will publish written materials and include the new knowledge into our work with the media. Empowerment of vulnerable groups and gatekeeper education within selective and indicated preventive activities will also be improved on the basis of the results of the study. The results of the proposed project could therefore contribute to improving services for men and to a more prompt and efficient detection of those male individuals who are at highest risks of attempting suicide. Research focused on specific risk groups and interventions developed to target these specific groups can provide more effective, appropriate and consequently more affordable preventive strategies.
The proposed project can have a direct impact on the level of well-being of the inhabitants (specifically those in targeted risk groups) and also on the economy by improving mental health of at-risk individuals (both by empowering them directly and through improved quality of communication between gatekeepers and them resulting in higher user satisfaction and their quality of life). The described improvements have a potential to result in higher productivity and reduced costs related to health care activities and absenteeism. Possibly, these findings can be brought into national level. The results of the study could have an impact also at socio-economic levels and help diminish negative consequences of suicide on society.
Most important scientific results
Interim report,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Interim report,
final report
