Suicide prevention in Australia using online interventions

Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth (Mann 2005). It is known that as many as 90% of those who attempt suicide or complete it have visited a health professional in the previous 12 months but that 'more than 90% of suicides in depressed youth are untreated at the time of death'. Suicide Prevention has been the topic of a Senate Inquiry (2010) and a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry (2010). Despite the recognized importance of the topic very little research in methods to prevent suicide is conducted. Policy makers and practitioners are unclear as to what interventions might be effective or feasible. The observations that many suicidal young people are 'online' raises the possibility that online services might attract those at risk and that screening for particular risk factors online might serve as a bridge to encourage helpseeking.The research reported in this paper is a project of the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute which is supported by a grant from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing under the Primary Health Care Research Evaluation and Development Strategy