Kairi Kõlves

Griffith University · Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention

This is a one-stop book for anyone who wants an overview of the research approaches and issues concerning suicide. Leading researchers provide a comprehensive toolbox of the current best practices in suicide research, showing you how to conduct high-quality research using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods in suicide-prevention from a pub...

Objectives: Little is known about how complex, multilevel, and multicomponent suicide prevention interventions work in real life settings. Understanding the methods used to systematically adopt, deliver, and sustain these interventions could ensure that they have the best chance of unfolding their full effect. This systematic review aimed to exami...

Background: Currently, there is no comprehensive study focused on identifying what is needed to support ongoing participation within the suicide prevention lived experience workforce (LEW). It is unclear what specific factors may impede or support ongoing participation in the LEW. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of suicide pre...

Background: National suicide prevention strategies support development of suicide prevention activities and their evaluation. Aims: To describe components included in national suicide prevention strategies and analyze the potential contribution of individual components to reduce suicide rates. Method: We conducted a narrative review and statistical...

Individuals bereaved by suicide experience substantial emotional distress and are at risk for poorer mental health, substance use concerns, and suicidal behaviors. This study aimed to explore whether those bereaved by suicide reported different coping styles compared to those bereaved by sudden death in the first six months. It also aimed to determ...

Suicide is an ongoing public health issue globally. An individual’s risk of suicide is made up of a complex interaction between risk factors that can occur at an ecological (population), distal, or proximal level: “the biopsychosocial model.” The World Health Organization identifies alcohol use (including both acute intoxication and chronic use) as...

Objective: Some countries have implemented systems to monitor suicides in real-time. These systems differ because of the various ways in which suicides are identified and recorded. The main objective of this study was to conduct an international comparison of major real-time suicide mortality surveillance systems to identify joint strengths, chall...

Objectives: Working in high-stress and male-dominated occupations is associated with an elevated risk of suicide. The current study sought to conduct the first systematic literature review and meta-analysis aimed at determining suicide risk across the diverse, high pressure and male-dominated transport industry (commercial aviation, merchant seafa...

Background: Understanding the use of Systematic Tailored Assessment for Responding to Suicidality protocol (STARS-p) in practice by trained mental health practitioners over the longer- term is critical to informing further developments. The study aim was to examine practitioners' experiences of STARS-p and factors associated with its use in practi...

Background Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), have the potential to enhance service responsiveness and quality, improve reach to underserved groups, and help address the lack of workforce capacity in health and mental health care. However, little research has been conducted on the acceptability of AI, particularly in menta...

Background Predicted increases in suicide were not generally observed in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the picture may be changing and patterns might vary across demographic groups. We aimed to provide a timely, granular picture of the pandemic's impact on suicides globally. Methods We identified suicide data from official pu...

An expert survey was designed to support the development of a workplace-based multi-country intervention tackling depression, anxiety, and mental illness-related stigma in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Academic experts and representatives of SME organisations, specific sector organisations, labour or advocacy groups, and occupational...

It has been argued that effective action towards addressing a complex concern such as suicide requires a combination of evidence-based strategies. While these complex public health approaches have recently gained importance, little is known about their characteristics and what contributes to their complexity. The use of interchangeable terms such a...

Understanding the social determinants and risk factors for suicidal behaviors underlies the development of effective suicide prevention interventions. This review focused on recently published literature (2010 onwards), with the aim to determine the role of economic factors (at the individual and population level) on suicidal behaviors and ideation...

Background The suicide rate in Guyana has consistently ranked as one of the highest in the world. This systematic review synthesises and critically analyses the existing literature on suicidal behaviours and ideation in Guyana. Methods Systematic review with narrative synthesis was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, PsychInfo, CINAHL a...

Lifeline Australia aims to prevent suicide and support community members in personal crisis via the provision of free anonymous telephone, online chat and text message services. This study aimed to identify the expectations and outcomes of Lifeline help‐seekers, including whether there are differences between suicide‐related and non‐suicide‐related...

Abstract Background This study examines the 20-year trend of suicide in 46 Muslim-majority countries throughout the world and compares their suicide rates and trends with the global average. Ecological-level associations between the proportion of the Muslim population, the age-standardized suicide rates, male-to-female suicide rate ratio, and the H...

Background Suicide in young people is a leading cause of death. Interventions that are reflexive, tailored, and developed in concert with this at-risk population are needed. This study aimed to integrate lived-experience into the design of a suicide prevention intervention delivered by phone to young people post-discharge from an emergency departme...

More than 700,000 people lose their lives to suicide each year and evidence suggests that the current COVID-19 pandemic is leading to increases in risk factors for suicide and suicide-related behaviour, in particular among young people. It is widely documented that some sectors of the population are over-represented in the suicide statistics. It is...

Importance: Self-injury mortality (SIM) combines suicides and the preponderance of drug misuse-related overdose fatalities. Identifying social and environmental factors associated with SIM and suicide may inform etiologic understanding and intervention design. Objective: To identify factors associated with interstate SIM and suicide rate variati...

Background and Aims Systematic Tailored Assessment for Responding to Suicidality (STARS) protocol and associated training were developed with the key objectives of supporting clinicians to conduct a suicide enquiry, obtaining a comprehensive account of psycho-social factors contributing to suicidality, and collaboratively developing a safety plan w...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in Queensland die by suicide at more than four times the rate of their non-Indigenous peers. As the evidence of successful suicide prevention is limited, understanding effective mechanisms is crucial. The United Health Education and Learning Program (UHELP) pilot program evaluation found a signific...

Background: Suicide is a preventable cause of death. Examining suicide rates and trends are important in shaping national suicide prevention strategies. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to analyze age-standardized suicide trends of Malaysia between 2000 and 2019 using the WHO Global Health Estimates data, and to compare the 2019 rate wi...

Background The Pacific Islands have some of the highest rates of suicide in the Western Pacific region. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature on suicidal behaviour in the Pacific Islands. Methods A comprehensive search of Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane, CINAHL and Embase databases was conducted for all a...

Aims: We aimed to determine whether there has been a change in the number of suicides occurring in three Australian states overall, and in age and sex subgroups, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and to see if certain risk factors for suicide have become more prominent as likely underlying contributing factors for suicide. Method: Using real-time...

This study explored the experiences of healthcare consumers who had recently attempted suicide, and their carers, following placement on a Suicide Prevention Pathway based on the Zero Suicide framework. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 consumers and 5 carers using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews were transcribed and th...

Background : Suicide rates within the construction industry are disproportionately high and there is accumulating evidence suggesting that young apprentices working in this industry may be particularly vulnerable. This study examined the presence of suicidal ideation and exposure to suicidal behaviours in construction industry apprentices, and expl...

Background: There has been limited attention to the development and delivery of tertiary suicide prevention curricula. The aim of this work was to describe the status of postgraduate suicide prevention education, with specific attention on examining the needs of the suicide prevention sector in Australia. Method: An online survey was completed b...

Crisis lines provide a critical first line of mental wellbeing support for community members in distress. Given the increasing referral to such services, there is a need to understand what the expectations of the community are around the role of such services in our public health responses. A computer assisted telephone interview was undertaken bet...

Counselling helplines or hotlines are key support services for young people with mental health concerns or in suicide and self-harm crises. We aimed to describe young peoples’ use of a national youth helpline (Kids Helpline, Australia, KHL) to understand how usage changed over time. A descriptive analysis was conducted on 1,415,228 answered contact...

Background: Alcohol consumption is related to both suicidal ideation and behaviour, but evidence regarding the effect of psychological interventions to reduce alcohol use on self-harm, suicidal behaviour and ideation is limited. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to conduct a systematic literature review and meta-analysis of the effect of...

Background Several past studies indicated that religious beliefs, orientation, and practice are protective of suicide. Findings from recent studies in China suggest that religiosity may contribute to increased suicidality. However, few studies have examined the associations between religious affiliation across different faiths and suicidality in Ch...

Background. Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent mental health difficulties in the workplace, costing the global economy $1 trillion each year. Evidence indicates that symptoms may be reduced by interventions in the workplace. This paper is the first to systematically review psychosocial interventions for depression, anxiety, and suicidal...

Young Australian males working in the construction industry are twice as likely to take their own lives than other young Australian males. This group is also at high risk for poor mental health and alcohol and other drug related harm. Previous research has indicated a bullying culture within this industry, directed particularly toward apprentices a...

Summary Background The COVID-19 pandemic is having profound mental health consequences for many people. Concerns have been expressed that, at their most extreme, these consequences could manifest as increased suicide rates. We aimed to assess the early effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicide rates around the world. Methods We sourced real-time s...

Purpose The benefits of helplines are particularly valuable during a pandemic when face-to-face services and natural supports are difficult to access. Kids Helpline, Australia's national youth helpline, provides children and young people with free 24/7 information and counseling through telephone, WebChat, and e-mail. We aimed to examine the use of...

Objectives Explore international consensus on nomenclatures of suicidal behaviours and analyse differences in terminology between high-income countries (HICs) and low/middle-income countries (LMICs). Design An online survey of members of the International Organisation for Suicide Prevention (IASP) used multiple-choice questions and vignettes to as...

Background and Objective: Wesley Mission LifeForce training is an Australian suicide prevention gatekeeper program which has not been formally evaluated. The aims of this evaluation were to (1) determine the short- and medium- term impacts of the training on worker capabilities (perceived and declarative knowledge), attitudes, and reluctance to int...

Importance There is limited evidence supporting an association of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with suicidality and the risk factors for suicide attempt and suicide among people with ASD. Existing research highlights the need for national cohort studies. Objectives To analyze whether people with ASD have higher rates of suicide attempt and suici...

Limited research exists on the experiences of parents bereaved by suicide. Our earlier qualitative analysis examined the experiences of parents’ suicide bereavement at 6 and 12 months after their loss. The current study aimed to extend the analysis over 24 months, outlining the key themes of parents’ suicide bereavement experience. In the frames of...

Objective Helplines are generally a population-level resource providing free, timely, easy-to-access, and anonymous counselling and/or information. Helplines have been developed and widely implemented for specific use by young people. The current study aimed to systematically review the literature to determine the status of research into the use of...

Background: Despite the promising evidence for the effectiveness of school-based awareness programs in decreasing the rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in young people, no guidelines on the targets and methods of safe and effective awareness programs exist. Aims: This study intends to distill recommendations for school-based suicide a...

Background Deaths by suicide can increase during infectious disease outbreaks. This study analysed suspected suicide rates in 2020 relative to 2015–19 to assess any early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Queensland, Australia. Methods We analysed data from the interim Queensland Suicide Register (iQSR), a state-wide real-time suicide surveillan...

Objective: While suicide prevention interventions should be informed by lived experience, there are no reviews examining involvement of lived experience (LE) thus far. This rapid review aimed to synthesize available studies using LE of suicidality to guide the development of suicide prevention interventions. Method: A rapid review following PRIS...

Alcohol consumption has been found to be related to suicidal behavior at the individual and population level, but there is lack of literature reviews on the effect of alcohol policies on suicidal behavior. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to conduct a systematic literature review of the impact of alcohol policies at the population level o...

There is evidence indicating that traditionally male-dominated occupations are associated with greater risk of suicide. In Australia, MATES in Construction was developed as an occupational health initiative to prevent suicides in the industry. The program has recently been applied to the energy industry; however, little is known regarding exposure...

Background Although the suicide rate in China has decreased over the past 20 years, there have been reports that the younger age group has been experiencing an increased incidence of completed suicide. Given that undergraduate groups are at higher risks of suicidality, it is important to monitor and screen for risk factors for suicidal ideation and...

Objective Suicide rates are often higher in Indigenous than in non-Indigenous peoples. This systematic review assessed the effects of suicide prevention interventions on suicide-related outcomes in Indigenous populations worldwide. Methods We searched CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO, ProQuest Dissertations & Theses and Web of Science from databas...

https://mates.org.au/apprentice-report

Introduction: Rural and remote Australia has long been recognised as an area with reduced help-seeking for mental health concerns and an increased suicide mortality. The current study aimed to investigate the differences between help-seeking intentions and predictors between different locations across Australia to better understand the barriers to...

Aim Suicide trends in older adults were examined in Italy from 1980 to 2015. Age groups considered were 65–74 years, 75–84 and 85 + years. Methods Data on suicide deaths were obtained from the Italian Mortality Database (IMDB) collected by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and processed by the Statistics Unit of the Italian Nati...

Background and Objective: Suicide is a leading cause of death in young people. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can be triggered by life and study stresses; therefore, it is important to understand the role of coping strategies. The current study analyzed the link between different coping strategies and suicidality in university students in China. M...

Background: Gap Park in Sydney, Australia has historically been recognised as a suicide jumping site. In 2010-2011 the Gap Park Masterplan initiative implemented a series of suicide prevention measures. This study applied a mixed-methods design to evaluate the effectiveness of the Masterplan in reducing suicides. Methods: Data from the Australia...

As part of a suite of early intervention training and support services, Mates in Construction (MATES) provide two general awareness programs to promote mental health and suicide awareness and encourage help-offering and help-seeking in construction workers. General awareness training (GAT) is a one-hour session delivered to all construction workers...

Aims: Previous studies analysing blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the time of suicide have primarily focused on sociodemographic factors. Limited research has focused on psychosocial factors and co-ingestion of other substances to understand the mechanisms of how alcohol contributes to death by suicide. The aim was to examine time trends, psyc...

Suicide postvention comprises a concerted response to, and provision of care for, people bereaved by suicide including those impacted by the suicide of a family member, friend or person in their social network. Currently, various forms of postvention services are available, such as group support, grief counselling, outreach by agencies and online s...

Background: Limited information is available about suicidal behavior in the Pacific Islands. Forty percent of the New Caledonian population is indigenous Kanak; insights into the characteristics of suicide deaths in this population compared to other ethnic groups would be valuable. The aim of this paper is to deepen our understanding of the cultur...

Background: Suicide bereavement can have a lasting and devastating psychosocial impact on the bereaved individuals and communities. Many countries, such as Australia, have included postvention, i.e., concerted suicide bereavement support, in their suicide prevention policies. While little is known of the effectiveness of postvention, this review ai...

Objective Grief reactions change over time. However, only a limited number of studies, and none in Australia, have analysed changes in individual grief reactions longitudinally. The aim is to examine changes in grief reactions, mental health and suicidality of close family members bereaved by suicide, 6, 12 and 24 months after their loss compared w...

Background: The absence of agreed-upon terminology, definitions, and operational classifications has hampered research in the field of suicidology for many decades. Aims and Method: We systematically reviewed contemporary classifications of suicidal behavior using the scope of the classification (comprehensive vs. restricted or single behaviors), a...

Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention Annual Report 2019 Subjects: Suicide--Queensland--Statistics. Suicide--Research--Queensland. Suicidal behaviour--Queensland. Please cite as Leske, S., Crompton, D., & Kõlves, K. (2019). Suicide in Queensland: Annual Report 2019. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: Australian Institute for Suici...

The Mates in Construction (MATES) program was developed to address the issue of high suicide rates among males in the Australian construction industry. The program delivers early intervention training and support to construction workers. This mixed-methods study aimed to (1) examine the effectiveness of training for MATES connectors and (2) examine...

Hanging is a common method of suicide in several countries. Even as global suicide rates decrease, there is no evidence of suicides by hanging declining. There is limited research by type of hanging, and only a few papers present suicide by hanging from ceiling fans. Our paper proposes a research agenda that will: specify the size of the problem of...