Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Bahareh Afsharnejad; Ben Milbourn; Cherylee Brown; Rhonda Clifford; Kitty-Rose Foley; Alexandra Logan; Stephan Lund; Tawanda Machingura; Tomomi McAuliffe; Beth Mozolic-Staunton; Nicole Sharp; Maya Hayden-Evans; Ellie Baker Young; Melissa Black; Frank Zimmermann; Viktor Kacic; Sven Bölte; Sonya Girdler

doi:10.1111/sltb.12978

Back

Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Journal article

Open access

Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Bahareh Afsharnejad, Ben Milbourn, Cherylee Brown, Rhonda Clifford, Kitty-Rose Foley, Alexandra Logan, Stephan Lund, Tawanda Machingura, Tomomi McAuliffe, Beth Mozolic-Staunton, …

Suicide & life-threatening behavior, Vol.53(5), pp.725-738

10/2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12978

Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications

Files and links (2)

pdf

Understanding the utility of “Talk-to-Me” an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students360.20 kBDownload View

Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access

url

Understanding the utility of “Talk-to-Me” an online suicide prevention program for Australian university studentsView

Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open

Metrics

3 File views/ downloads

28 Record Views

1 Times Cited - Web of Science

See more details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites

Abstract

Mass Open Online Course (MOOC)

mental health education

suicide prevention program

university students

Background Australian university students are at risk of experiencing poor mental health, being vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal ideation. Aim “Talk-to-Me” is a suicide ideation prevention Massive open online course (MOOC) previously showing it can support Western Australian university students' knowledge of identifying and responding to suicide ideation in themselves and others. Methods A multi-site one-group pre-test/post-test design with a 12-week follow-up explored the efficacy of “Talk-to-Me” for university students Australia-wide, evaluating the influence of COVID-19 and location. Overall, 217 students (55% female; mage = 24.93 years [18, 60]) enrolled in this study from 2020 to 2021. Participants' responses to suicidal statements, mental health literacy, generalized self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, and overall utility of the program were collected at baseline, post-MOOC (10 weeks from baseline) and 12-week follow-up. The effect of time and location interaction was explored using a random-effects regression model. Results Findings indicated significant improvement in participants' knowledge of positive mental health support strategies (ES = 0.42, p < 0.001) and recognizing appropriate responses to suicidal statements (ES = 0.37, p < 0.001) at 10-weeks, with further improvement at 12 weeks follow-up (ES = 0.47 and 0.46, p < 0.001). Students reported higher generalized self-efficacy at the 12-week follow-up compared to baseline (ES = 0.19, p = 0.03) and an increased tendency to seek professional help for mental health issues (ES = 0.22, p = 0.02). Conclusion These findings provide preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the “Talk-to-Me” program in supporting ‎university students across Australia to increase their suicide-related knowledge and skills, ‎general self-efficacy, and overall mental fitness.

Details

Title: Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students
Creators: Bahareh Afsharnejad - Curtin University
Ben Milbourn - Curtin University
Cherylee Brown - Australian Catholic University
Rhonda Clifford - University of Western Australia
Kitty-Rose Foley - Southern Cross University
Alexandra Logan - Australian Catholic University
Stephan Lund - Southern Cross University
Tawanda Machingura - Bond University
Tomomi McAuliffe - University of Queensland
Beth Mozolic-Staunton - Bond University
Nicole Sharp - Western Sydney University
Maya Hayden-Evans - Curtin University
Ellie Baker Young - Curtin University
Melissa Black - Stockholm Health Care Services
Frank Zimmermann - Curtin University
Viktor Kacic - Curtin University
Sven Bölte - Curtin University
Sonya Girdler - Curtin University
Publication Details: Suicide & life-threatening behavior, Vol.53(5), pp.725-738
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Grant note: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst. Grant Number: ‎57511161‎ Healthway‎. Grant Number: ‎33212‎ Australian New Zealand Allied Health Professional Educator organisation (ANZAHPE)‎
Identifiers: 991013133613702368
Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Association of Suicidology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. Open access publishing facilitated by Curtin University, as part of the Wiley - Curtin University agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.
Academic Unit: Allied Health and Midwifery; Faculty of Health
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Files and links (2)

Metrics

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Abstract

Details

Southern Cross University Social media