WHO START Project

1. Project Profile

Project Name(s)	WHO START Project
Funded Organisation	Griffith University/Australian Institute of Suicide Research and Prevention (AISRAP)
Geographical Area	Information not provided
State/Territory	Queensland
Approach(es)	Universal
Individual/Group	Group
LIFE Action Areas	Improving the evidence base and understanding of suicide prevention Improving community strength, resilience and capacity in suicide prevention Taking a coordinated approach to suicide prevention Providing targeted suicide prevention activities Implementing standards and quality in suicide prevention
Target Groups	Other

2. Project Description

The World Health Organization's Suicide Trends in At-Risk Territories (WHO/START) Study is investigating preventative interventions across various countries, cultures and population sub-groups within the Asia-Pacific region, in Italy and Brazil.

As a Collaborating Centre for the WHO, AISRAP is managing the WHO/START project within the Western Pacific Region (WPR). Funding under the NSPP was provided to employ a Research Fellow to coordinate the WHO/START study.

The role of the technical coordinator involves:

• Providing methodological advice to all participating locations in the WPR, Italy in Europe, Brazil in South America, involved in START
• Acting as the custodians for the information collected in the WPR, Italy in Europe, Brazil in South America, for the pooled database
• Writing reports, research articles and funding applications on behalf of all participating locations

Staff members at AISRAP are actively involved in the study process as participating researchers and they have also been involved in the implementation of the START methodology at several Queensland hospitals.

In the 2011-13 funding period, the objectives of the project are to:

• Establish an effective and reliable monitoring system for both fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviours in all participating locations in the WPR, Italy and Brazil
• In the Australian context, create a database of presentations seen in Hospital Emergency Departments for suicidal behaviours
• Source age, gender and method of fatal suicide behaviour data from the Queensland Suicide Register (QSR)
• Use the data from the QSR to inform a model of care that is transferrable to participating locations in the WPR, Italy and Brazil
• In the role of technical coordinator, progress work on the pooled international database of fatal and non-fatal suicidal behaviours

3. Activities

In 2011-13 the project is:

• Continuing to develop an effective monitoring system for all participants internationally and increasing monitoring study to two additional hospitals in Queensland
• Identifying and assessing the trends of medically dangerous suicide attempts in the hospitals under surveillance
• Validating the data collected in the monitoring study by reviewing all cases presenting over two days in Emergency Departments – this will provide a model of care for all participating countries in the START study Top of page

4. Funding

• Round 1
  • NSPP funding
    • 2006/07 - $48,600
    • 2007/08 - $100,000
    • 2008/09 - $39,290
  • % project funding - data not supplied
• Round 2
  • NSPP funding
    • 2009/10 - $50,000
    • 2010/11 - $50,000
  • % project funding - data not supplied
• Round 3
  • NSPP funding
    • 2011/12 - $50,900
    • 2012/13 - $51,816
  • % project funding - data not supplied

5. Staffing

• Round 1 (2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09)
  • Number staff positions funded (FTE) - data not supplied
  • Number staff positions filled (FTE) - data not supplied
• Round 2 (2009/10, 2010/11)
  • Number staff positions funded (FTE) - 1
  • Number staff positions filled (FTE) - data not supplied
• Round 3 (2011/12, 2012/13)
  • Number staff positions funded (FTE) - 1
  • Number staff positions filled (FTE) - data not supplied