The Attempt Was My Own! Suicide Attempt Survivors Respond to an Australian Community-Based Suicide Exposure Survey

Suicide Awareness Training: A Literature Review with Application to Queensland Nurses

Despite decades of strategic intervention, Queensland's suicide rates exceed both national and global rates. This is surely an indicator that not enough is being done to address this cause of death. The authors suggest that this problem may be addressed, in part, by provision of improved suicide awareness training for nurses. The purpose of this review was to support this through examination of the contemporary status of suicide awareness training in Queensland nurses, the efficacy of suicide awareness training in general, and the experiences of nurses, other health professionals, and suicidal patients in healthcare settings. We concluded that while efficacious, suicide awareness training in Queensland nurses is presently inadequate, and that both nurses and patients may benefit from improved suicide awareness training.

Strategies to Stay Alive: Adaptive Toolboxes for Living Well with Suicidal Behavior

Suicidal behavior constitutes a major global problem. Qualitative research utilizing the first-hand experiences of those who have survived attempts to take their own lives can offer much in the way of understanding how to live well despite ongoing suicidal behavior. Given that suicidal intentions and behaviors occur within the person’s subjective construal, the solutions to living—and preferably living well—despite such inclinations must also be subjective and adaptive. The aim of this study was therefore to understand how individuals live with different aspects of their suicidal behavior and their use of effective strategies to protect themselves from future attempts. Thematic analysis of semi-structured, qualitative interviews with 17 participants with lived experience of suicidal behavior from the USA yielded two main themes: (i) the ‘dynamic relationship with suicidal behavior: living with, and through’, and (ii) ‘the toolbox’. Each of these themes had four subthemes. Participants in this study offered important insights into what helped them not just survive ongoing suicidal behavior, but how they created unique toolboxes to continue living, and to live well. These toolboxes contained personalized solutions to dealing with recurring threats to their subjective wellbeing and included diverse solutions from spirituality, pets, peer-support, participating in the arts, through to traditional therapeutic supports. Some participants also discussed the importance of broader social policy and societal changes that help them live. The findings highlight crucial implications for suicide prevention efforts, especially in terms of encouraging collaborations with the lived experience community and furthering a strengths-based approach to mitigating suicidal behaviors. We encourage the clinical community to work in partnership with service-users to enable them to generate effective solutions to living—and living well—through suicidal behavior.

A Qualitative Analysis of Motivators to Participation in Suicide-Focused Research from a Community-Based Australian Sample

Suicide prevention strategies internationally appear to be falling short of making a meaningful impact on global suicide deaths. Increasing the rates of general community participation in suicide research may improve knowledge generalisability as it relates to suicidal behaviour and leads to new suicide prevention approaches. This study aims to explore the motivations of a community-based sample to participate in suicide research. A subsample of the Australian general population took part in an online survey which is part of a multilevel suicide prevention trial. The survey concluded with an optional open-text question asking about peoples’ motivations for participating in the study; 532 participants left a response to this question. These responses were qualitatively analysed using Thematic Network Analysis. Motivations to participate in suicide research were represented by four global themes: altruism, solve systemic problems, lived experience, and personal benefit. Of these themes, three were focused on the benefit of others, while only the final theme articulated motivation to participate that was self-focused. The impact of suicide is felt throughout the wider community. This new understanding of the motivations of community-based samples to participate in suicide research should be used to increase participation rates and reach people who would not normally contribute their voice to suicide research.

Exploring the lived experiences of the suicide attempt survivors: a phenomenological approach

Purpose: Suicide is a complex phenomenon that needs to be studied with a variety of approaches. The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experience of attempted suicide with the phenomenology approach.

Method: An interpretive phenomenological approach was used to analyse semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 16 participants (ages 19–57) who were recruited by means of purposive sampling from October to November 2017 at the Farshchian Psychiatric Hospital in Hamadan/Iran. Data analysis was conducted according to van Manen’s phenomenological method.

Results: Identified three themes and eight subthemes: Mental pain (subthemes: living through grief, internal conflict, the world is better without me), Social challenges (lack of social connection, financial problems, social support services) and Need for love and belonging (feeling understood, need of empathy).

Conclusions: Outcomes and key implications of the study related primarily to improving the treatment experiences of suicide attempt survivors and other at-risk population, and also advancing suicide prevention efforts and to provide support for suicide attempt survivors.