OA2024. Evaluation of two suicide prevention training programs for Indigenous Australians

Abstract Background Indigenous Australians experience one of the world’s highest suicide rates, with suicide being the leading cause of death for those aged 15–39 and the fifth for all Indigenous Australians. Their suicide rate is approximately twice that of non-Indigenous Australians, with a 33% increase over the past decade, making suicide prevention a national public health priority. This presentation describes evaluations of two community-based suicide prevention training programs in New South Wales, LivingWorks I-ASIST and LivingWorks safeYARN, to generate body of evidence illustrating the impact of these programs on participants’ capacity to identify suicide thoughts, to respond to suicide thoughts, and to improve help offering. Methods A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data from trainees. Results LivingWorks I-ASIST was delivered across 10 rural/regional and 10 urban areas, reaching 245 trainees (51.1% urban). Most trainees (71.5%) were community members without prior formal suicide prevention training, while 28.5% were health professionals with such experience. Knowledge and confidence in suicide prevention before LivingWorks I-ASIST were significantly higher among those with prior formal training in suicide prevention than those with no such training. Additionally, knowledge and confidence in suicide prevention were higher in trainees from urban areas than those in rural/regional areas. After completing LivingWorks I-ASIST, no significant differences in Knowledge and confidence between groups were observed, demonstrating the program’s positive impact. LivingWorks safeYARN involved 227 participants across 13 rural/regional and seven urban workshops. Post-training, 74.0% felt well-prepared to talk directly and openly to a person about their suicide thoughts, with no significant difference based on location. Conclusions Both programs effectively enhanced participants’ knowledge and confidence in suicide prevention. Key messages • The suicide prevention programs were well-received by trainees and strongly recommended to be widely available to Australian Indigenous communities and those who serve the Indigenous communities. • While the trainees valued the culturally specific components of the suicide prevention training programs, they recommended to enhance the Indigenous and cultural insights of these programs. Topic Suicide intervention, Indigenous Australians, Intentional harm