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$3 million to support research into suicide and self-harm in WA
Download page as PDFI’m pleased to announce that the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist (OCP) is partnering with the University of Western Australia (UWA) to investigate the health service pathways and outcomes for health consumers who present to an Emergency Department (ED) seeking urgent care for mental illness, suicidal and self-harm behaviours.
This joint research initiative has secured $1.5 million in funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), which has been matched by funding from the Western Australian Future Health Research & Innovation Fund (Department of Health WA) and the Office of the Chief Psychiatrist, for a total of $3 million.
The research will use longitudinal linked data to examine presentations to ED, post-ED referral pathways, access to secondary mental health care and economic costs of mental health service use. The study will also examine outcomes for high-risk groups including Aboriginal peoples, people with neurodevelopmental disabilities and people living in regional WA.
Findings from the research will provide evidence to support planning, policy, and practice improvements to better support mental health consumers and produce better mental health outcomes for the WA community.
The research project was initiated by Dr Colleen O’Leary, OCP, and developed in collaboration with Professor David Preen, Chair in Public Health, School of Population and Global Health, UWA, alongside additional researchers from UWA, The Kids Research Institute Australia, the University of Melbourne and University of Tasmania. Professor Preen is the research lead and Chief Investigator on the NHMRC grant.
An initial review of the literature – a joint systematic review undertaken by the OCP and UWA – found a high proportion of people who presented to ED for suicidal and self-harm behaviours were not receiving timely follow up by secondary mental health services and were falling through the cracks.
Dr Nathan Gibson
Chief Psychiatrist of Western Australia