SUICIDE in RURAL & REMOTE AREAS of AUSTRALIA - Living is for ...

Suicide in rural and remote areas of Australia 85
within a community and access help for them. The
lessons learnt from the Shoalhaven Aboriginal
Suicide Prevention Program can create a strong
foundation upon which to build a more effective
gate-keeper training strategy. Further, sport- or
apprenticeship-based suicide prevention strategies
may also be appropriate, relevant and accessible to
Indigenous youth (see also Tatz, 2005). Programs
such as Alive and Kicking Goals!, and those run
through the PCYC in different communities, need
to be evaluated in order to better assess their
effectiveness.
consequently, evidence-based research needs to be
supported so as to better inform future policy and
suicide prevention strategies. Further, rural-based
suicide prevention strategies which are currently
implemented need to be evaluated to ensure that
they are effective in the face of the changing rural
social environment. Australia has traditionally had
strong ties to its rural culture and this historical
importance needs to be remembered in order to
protect these vulnerable communities from the
tragedy of suicide.
Indeed, a multi-faceted phenomenon such as
suicide necessarily requires multi-faceted solutions.
Signifi cant gaps in research still exist and,
GriffithBook FINAL 20/09.indd 85
15/11/12 4:28 PM