This work is supported by the European Union H2020-EU.1.3.2. MSCA-IF-GF - Global Fellowships (Grant agreement ID: 101026065) awarded to Dr Maria Michail.
Summary
Globally, suicide is a second leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29. Despite the deployment of comprehensive and multilevel suicide prevention strategies, we still do not know which suicide prevention interventions, for which groups of young people, for how long, and with what intensity could generate the most significant reductions in youth suicide rates. Therefore, we cannot efficiently and effectively inform decision-making in youth suicide prevention policy, planning and implementation. Current methodological approaches (meta-analyses, regression models) have limited adequacy and accuracy because they do not: respond to real-time suicide data; account for the interrelationship, interdependence, and nonlinearity of suicide risk factors as they operate across multiple levels (e.g. individual, social); consider the influence of factors such as healthcare constraints (access, capacity).
SEYMOUR offers a novel paradigm for guiding the efficient and effective deployment of national and global youth suicide prevention strategies using system dynamics modelling (SDM). SEYMOUR will develop and evaluate a novel SDM that will demonstrate which suicide prevention interventions at a population level could generate the most significant reductions in suicide rates among young people aged 12-25 in Australia and the UK. This will include an implementation blueprint to facilitate the transferability, internationalisation, and adoption of the SDM as a decision-making tool in youth suicide prevention policy and practice in Europe and globally.
Aims of the study
SEYMOUR will develop and evaluate a SDM to inform youth suicide prevention policy, planning and implementation in Australia and the UK. Specifically, SEYMOUR aims to:
- Develop and validate a model to inform the most appropriate combination of population-level suicide prevention interventions that would generate the most significant reductions in rates of suicide and attempted suicide among young people aged 12-25 over a 10-year period in North-West Melbourne (2023-2033).
- Develop an implementation strategy to facilitate the adoption of the model as a decision-making tool in youth suicide prevention policy and practice in North-West Melbourne.
- Adapt and validate the model in the UK context and optimise how it can inform policy, system-level reform, and service redesign in relation to youth suicide.
Collaborators
SEYMOUR brings together expertise across the disciplines of psychology, medicine, sociology, implementation science, system science and policy, and most importantly young people’s experiential knowledge of self-harm and suicidal behaviour.
Lead Researcher
University of Birmingham
Orygen, Centre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne
Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney
Publications
- Michail, M, Robinson, J, Witt, K, Occhipinti, J-A, Skinner, A, Lamblin, M, Veresova, M, Kartal, D & Waring, J 2023, 'Which programmes and policies across health and community settings will generate the most significant impacts for youth suicide prevention in Australia and the UK? Protocol for a systems modelling and simulation study', BMJ open, vol. 13, no. 8, e071111. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071111
- Michail, M & Witt, K 2023, 'Unleashing the Potential of Systems Modeling and Simulation in Supporting Policy-Making and Resource Allocation for Suicide Prevention', Crisis, vol. 44, no. 4, pp. 261-266. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000905
- Michail, M, Morgan, J & Lavis, A 2023, 'Youth partnership in suicide prevention research: moving beyond the safety discourse', BMJ open, vol. 13, no. 10, e076885. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-076885
Recruitment
The SEYMOUR study will investigate which suicide prevention interventions can help reduce rates of suicide and attempted suicide among young people aged 12-25 in England.
The study is being done in two parts.
PART 1
Develop a model that looks at:
- how self-harm and suicidal thoughts and behaviours develop in young people;
- what the risks and protective factors may be; and
- what are the best interventions or programs (e.g. GP training, school-based mental health programs) that can help reduce risk of suicide.
This model will be developed in workshops with young people, families/carers, health professionals and youth advocacy organisations.
PART 2
Find out how best we can implement these interventions or programs in practice and what could help or impede the rollout of these interventions.
What does the study involve?
Part 1
Two workshops with a group of 10-15 young people, healthcare professionals (e.g. GPs, nurses), family members/carers and people from local charities.
The workshops will take place at the University of Birmingham and will be facilitated by our research team.
Part 2
Two (half-day) workshops to hear your views about how best we can roll out those interventions/programmes that work best in reducing rates of suicide & attempted suicide among young people aged 12-25.
A brief online survey questionnaire.
Eligibility
- Young people aged 12-25 who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour who live in Birmingham.
Recruitment Poster Young People (PDF - 519KB)
- Healthcare professionals and clinicians across Birmingham.
Recruitment Poster Professionals (PDF - 343KB)
- Staff/volunteers of youth advocacy organisations supporting young people with lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour within Birmingham.
Recruitment Poster NGOs (PDF - 344KB)
- Family members/carers of young people aged 12-25 who have lived experience of self-harm and/or suicidal behaviour who live in Birmingham.
Recruitment Poster Carers (PDF - 350KB)
We are now recruiting participants for Part 1.
If you are interested in finding more about the study, please contact Dr Maria Michail m.michail@bham.ac.uk