Seymour study
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Seymour study

Seymour: System dynamics modelling for suicide prevention.

Investigator: Dr Maria Michail 

The Seymour study will investigate which suicide prevention interventions can help reduce rates of suicide and attempted suicide among young people aged 12-25 in north-western Melbourne.

The study is being done in three parts:

Part one
Develop a model that looks at: 

  • how self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours develop in young people;
  • what the risks and protective factors may be; and
  • what are the best interventions or programs (e.g. GP training, school-based mental health programs) that can help reduce risk of suicide.

This model will be developed in workshops with young people, their families and health professionals or youth advocacy organisations. 

Part two
Test to see how well the model works against existing data from a wide variety of sources (e.g. Australian Bureau of Statistics). This will show us which interventions or programs work best. 

Part three
Interviews and focus groups with young people, their families and health professionals, youth advocacy organisations and policy makers about how best we can implement these interventions in practice and what could help or impede the rollout of these interventions.

What does the study involve?
We are recruiting participants for parts one and three of the study. 

Part one

  • Three full-day workshops with a group of 10-15 young people, healthcare professionals (e.g. GPs, nurses), family members/carers and people from local charities. 
  • The workshops will take place at a convenient location or online, and will be facilitated by our research team. 

Part three

  • Semi-structured interviews with 20 young people who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour and live in the north-west of Melbourne.
  • Three focus groups (six to eight people each) with healthcare practitioners across primary and community-based services who support young people who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour. 
  • Three focus groups (six to eight people each) with local/regional NGOs and charities. 
  • Twelve interviews with suicide prevention policy leads and service commissioners in north-west Melbourne. 
  • Twelve interviews with health and social care ministerial advisors and policy makers across the state of Victoria.

A second optional activity in part three will recruit existing participants for two half-day workshops of 10-15 people. The workshops will include young people, healthcare professionals, policy makers and our research team. Workshops will take place at a convenient location or online.

Reimbursement

Young people participating in this study will be reimbursed $30 per hour for their time.
Family/carers who participate in this study will receive a $30 gift voucher for their time. 

 Eligibility

  • Young people aged 12-25 who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour and live in north-western Melbourne. 
  • Health professionals and staff/volunteers of youth advocacy organisations supporting young people with lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour within north-western Melbourne; and 
  • Family members/carers of young people aged 12-25 who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour and live in north-western Melbourne.

Recruitment

Participation in the study is voluntary and Orygen researchers will ensure participants have all information about the study before they provide consent.

If you are interested in participating in the study, please complete the form below.

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