Preventing Suicide in the North: developing capacity, local knowledge and skills

This report grew out of the recognition that while suicide is an outcome the circumstances and contributing factors to suicide are variable from one part of Australia to another due to regional differences and contexts. Drought, flood, unemployment, financial strain, family relationship breakdown, and commonly depression and other mental health conditions are all circumstances that are known to increase risk, as does being born into an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander family. The Northern region centred on Townsville (pop. Est. 200000) includes rural and somewhat isolated communities (e.g., Paluma with 30 residents) ranging from a few hundred residents (e.g., Ravenswood, 349), to Ayr and Home Hill in the Burdekin with about 18 to 20000 residents, and Charters Towers (est. 8300) a large proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents, Palm island (est. 5000), and a military presence (including families est. >45000). This somewhat unique mix makes for greater complexity in developing a suicide prevention framework suited to this region, planning what to do, and defining the "how to" applications of suicide prevention