4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association for Suicide Prevention
What: 4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association of Suicide Prevention
Where: Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane
When: 17th-20th November, 2010
Why: A community that values people and the quality of life; a world where no one believes suicide or self-harm is the only option for them.
The 4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is to be jointly hosted by Suicide Prevention Australia (SPA) and The Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP).
Suicide Prevention: A Dialogue Across Disciplines and Cultures Conference is fortunate to have as Patron, the 2010 Australian of the Year, Professor Patrick McGorry who will be presenting along with other distinguished speakers such as Dr Lanny Berman, IASP Chair, Professor Diego De Leo, Dr Michael Dudley, Dr Murad Khan and many more…..
The aim is to create a much needed discussion about the issue and to share new ideas, successes and challenges from a broad national and international perspective. Not only do we aim to create a discussion from the conference, but we hope to achieve a plan and direction for the Asia Pacific Region as a whole to move forward in suicide prevention.
The conference will be held in Brisbane at the Sofitel Hotel and will run from Wednesday 17th – Saturday 20th November, 2010. The conference will consist of a mixture of:
- Main plenary sessions
- Streaming sessions
- Workshops
- Master classes
- Welcome reception
- Opening ceremony
- Social events
- Closing ceremony
This will be an exciting, innovative and educational conference with a clear message and focus on ALL aspects of suicide prevention. This derives from the recommendations from the 3rd Asia Pacific Regional Conference. Some of these recommendations were:
- There needed to be some focus on bereavement
- There needed to be more focus on postvention
- There needed to be a stream for suicide attempt survivors
- There needed to be master classes
This conference will have a focus on not only science, but evidence based programs, research and those who have experienced the affects of suicide firsthand (carers / consumers).
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS is now open for the 4th Asia Pacific Regional Conference of the IASP. The deadline is 14th June 2010. For more information click here.
This conference will have a focus on not only science, but evidence based programs, research and those who have experienced the affects of suicide firsthand (carers / consumers).
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National Committee for Standardised Reporting on Suicide (NCSRS)
Background
In 2006, at the SPA National Conference, Connecting Pathways – Big Country, Big Picture, delegates proposed that increased stakeholder support for Coroner’s Offices nationally was required to help develop standardised ways of recording data relevant to suicide, including statistics that reflected cultural diversity and, in particular, country of birth.
Accurate statistics relevant to suicide are, of course, fundamental to the development of effective regional and national suicide prevention, intervention and postvention strategies, and contribute to the broader objective of reducing the stigma often associated with suicide and self-harm. Standardised reporting of suicide has also previously been identified as a principal objective/outcome of the Federal Government’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy.
There have been important strategies implemented already in Australia, most notably the establishment of the National Coroners Information System (NCIS), to coordinate national data collection more broadly and provide valuable information concerning the circumstances of reported fatalities, that assists in the development of community health and safety strategies. It has been identified however, that reporting on suicide and the related circumstances, poses a number of additional challenges (including legal/jurisdictional, political, philosophical, and practical) and as a result some inconsistencies in reporting on suicide remain, whereby suicide data is currently recorded through a range of agencies and often dissimilar reporting processes.
Whilst a coordinated and consistent approach to data collection is critical, SPA does however recognize that the purposes, roles, frameworks, parameters, and evidence required in the reporting of suicide differ for various stakeholders in the system and for research and/or suicide prevention strategies. For example, the burden of proof in reporting a death as suicide for a coroner is higher than what may be considered necessary for the purposes of suicide-related research. As a result a systemic approach to reviewing the reporting of suicide is required to establish recommendations within this complex context.
With this in mind, in 2008, SPA commenced a consultative process aimed at exploring the pragmatics of achieving improved and standardised reporting of suicide and self-harm in Australia. As part of this project, SPA presented at the Chief Coroners Meeting in May, and again at the Asia Pacific Coroners Society Conference in November.
SPA also heavily consulted on the issue throughout the year via engagement with the National Coroners Information System; key researchers; regional projects between local coroners and services; various health and community services; representatives from the Child Death Review Committee (NSW) and Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine. It was this process that led to the establishment of the National Committee for Standardised Reporting on Suicide.
National Committee for Standardised Reporting on Suicide (NCSRS)
This multi disciplinary committee includes representatives from State and Territory Coroners Offices, the National Coronial Information System (NCIS), the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP), Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), Australian Suicide Prevention Advisory Council (ASPAC), the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA), State and Territory Health Departments, Police, peak bodies, crisis support service providers, forensic pathologists, funeral directors and researchers. As such, this committee is well positioned to lead the collaborative approach to standardised reporting of suicide in Australia.
Whilst many of the challenges of achieving standardised reporting of suicide and self-harm are already evident in the local context, it is important that key stakeholders nationally are consulted via the NCSRS with a view to developing a strategy for piloting proposed changes and, ultimately, establishing an agreed set of national standards and processes for suicide reporting.
NCSRS Aims and Agenda
Research has shown that recent suicide statistics in Australia are characterised by underreporting and inconsistency across regions (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2009). This has implications for policy development, monitoring and evaluation and can lead to mis-informed and mis-directed prevention, intervention and postvention activities, which critically may neglect at-risk groups and regions. Arising from these concerns the NCSRS is committed:
- To achieve cross-jurisdictional and multi-party agreement on adequate, standard and operationalised criteria and reporting formats for suicide and related data.
- To work collaboratively across the range of stakeholders and projects addressing this issue towards systemic reform.
- To identify gaps and priorities for the development of complementary projects to further the broad agenda of standardised reporting on suicide.
- To establish working groups and pilot projects to implement these projects.
- To collaboratively develop recommendations for changes within various components of the system as well as at a systemic level.
- To identify resource implications of any proposed reform.
- To develop a proposed implementation strategy to pilot and then implement national reform in standardised reporting on suicide.
The NCSRS has identified priorities and plans for achieving standardised and accurate reporting of suicide as originating in three related domains as well as broader systemic issues:
- Information to Coroners,
- Coronial Systems,
- Data Recording and Coding by other Stakeholders, and
- Systemic Reform.
NCSRS Workshops
The NCSRS has met three times to date. The first workshop, held in April 2009, focused on defining the scope and terms of reference for the NCSRS. The second workshop, held in September 2009, identified priority areas for action and the June 2010 meeting began the process of action for these priority areas.
Detailed reports containing the outcomes of these workshops are available below:
NCSRS Workshop 1 - April 2009
NCSRS Workshop 2 - September 2009
NCSRS Workshop 3 - June 2009 (coming soon!)
With support from DoHA, the NCSRS intends to meet four times per year (the full Committee and/or Project Groups) with the next workshop due during the first quarter of 2010.
SPAs Ongoing Role in the NCSRS
SPA has been in a unique position to establish the NCSRS; drawing on its status as a broad-based organisation that brings together diverse interests across disciplines, practitioners, researchers, and those in the community affected by suicide and self-harm. This approach to advocacy within the suicide prevention sector and in this specific instance with regards to suicide reporting, has enabled SPA to work across government (federal, state and local) and across communities to draw together a cross-jurisdictional collective.
SPAs ongoing role as the coordinating body for the NCSRS was endorsed at the September 2009 workshop.
NCSRS and the Senate Inquiry into Suicide in Australia
The NCSRS welcomed the unique opportunity presented by the Senate Inquiry into Suicide in Australia to ensure that the importance of accurate reporting of suicide is given urgent and appropriate attention and resources.
The NCSRS was able to make a comprehensive submission to the Senate Inquiry, addressing in particular term of reference (b):
The accuracy of suicide reporting in Australia, factors that may impede accurate identification and recording of possible suicides, (and the consequences of any under-reporting on understanding risk factors and providing services to those at risk).
More details (including the final report) regarding the inquiry are available by clicking here.
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SPA Moving Forward
The 2005–2008 Suicide Prevention Australia Strategic Plan expired as at 30 June 2008. Adjunct Professor John Mendoza, Director of ConNetica Consulting, was engaged by SPA in February 2008 to undertake a comprehensive review of this plan and the organisation more broadly. The review involved an evaluation of the performance of SPA against its 2005–2008 SPA Strategic Plan objectives, and also included a review of the organisation’s governance and management systems, and an assessment of its operating systems. This review included a two-day planning workshop with the SPA Board, State Delegates, staff and other relevant stakeholders.
Findings of the review suggest that the vast majority of stakeholders believe SPA has made a noteworthy contribution to the national suicide prevention agenda; raising the hard issues and living up to its organisational values. SPA has also now built a solid reputation around the production and delivery of events-related projects.
Over the lifespan of the strategic plan, SPA has forged solid working relationships with a vast spectrum of organisations and individuals; albeit with some challenges experienced in fostering these connections to achieve significant outcomes for the sector. This success was emphasised, during the review, by stakeholder recognition that the organisation has achieved most what it set out to do within the framework of its strategic plan. The needs of the sector have, however, changed and many stakeholders now view the old plan as irrelevant to the sector’s needs in moving forward.
Executive Summary from the Report from the Evaluation of the 2005-8 Strategic Plan and Organisational Review of Suicide Prevention Australia Inc - Click Here!
The 2008–2010 SPA Strategic Plan has since been developed on the basis of these and other key learnings derived from both the ConNetica Consulting organisational review, and decisions made at the aforementioned planning workshop in Hobart in April 2008.
The three ‘key result areas’ of the new SPA strategic plan are as follows:
1. Strategic Alliances & Partnerships;
2. Sector Advocacy & Partnerships; and
3. SPA Reform & Sustainability.
Suicide Prevention Australia Strategic Plan 2008 – 2010 - click here!
The review clearly identified a need in the sector for a strong national voice for suicide prevention in Australia. In response, SPA has established a specialised taskforce to develop a strategy for the possible formation of a new national enterprise, designed to provide effective national leadership and to strengthen the capacity of the Australian community to reduce the risk of and prevent self-harm and suicide.
The SPA Strategic Plan 2008-10 commits the organisation to reforming its governance structures and documents. Specifically, the Plan states that SPA will review and modify the Constitution, Board structures and governance policies to best align with SPA’s strategic direction.
A Governance Reform Project is currently being implemented. This was funded primarily through a grant received through the Mental Health Council of Australia Capacity Building Project. The SPA Board met in October 2008 and has proposed a new governance model. The SPA membership was consulted on this proposed model. The proposed new governance structure and constitution was formally adopted by the membership as of 31 March, 2009. Details of the Interim Board can be found by clicking here.
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