Background to Project

National funding for suicide prevention projects in Australia has given rise to a range of community development strategies as well as a number of training project initiatives. The National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NYSPS) provided funding for education and training projects that would ‘influence programmes and service providers to adopt work practices which have been identified as the most effective.’ (Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services, Mental Health Branch 1997, Suicide in Australia: The national suicide prevention strategy, Publications production unit, DH&FS, Canberra, p. 7)

The University Department of Rural Health, Tasmania (UDRH) as part of the Partners in Health Agreement between the University and the Department of Health and Human Services, has embarked on a program to provide a framework to address the needs of Tasmanians in the area of suicide prevention, with a focus on education and training, and on rural and regional services.