Canadian Research and Knowledge Translation Agenda on Suicide

Role of cultural factors and suicide rates

Are some cultures more/less prone to suicide and why

What preventative healthcare education and cognitive behavioural skills can be initiated in public school education to reach zero suicide?

Through health programs in elementary schools begin offering skills to manage emotions, self esteem, anger, stress etc... preventative behavioural skills which can be used throughout life. Children having difficulty with this may then be captured earlier for youth mental health treatment.

Should we have the suicide talk with children, the same way way there is sex education or "the talk?"

Effective ways for everybody to participate in suicide prevention

There is a misperception that suicide prevention is something that only health professionals can do. But there are things that everyone can do to help prevent suicides, and a dearth of evidence about effective ways to engage the whole community in preventing suicides.

What stops people from acting on suicidal ideas?

Since death from suicide is a relatively rare event (recent rates: 20 deaths per 100,000 people in Japan, which has the highest rate, and around 10 deaths in Canada), prevention that addresses everyone may not be the best strategy. I would want to know more about effective ways to change suicidal ideation once it occurs.

Peer-reviewed publications of research studies and systematic reviews

These are NOT the most accessible nor quickest means of obtaining information. However, if one has a high stake in a topic (e.g., because one is personally or professionally invovled with the topic) and one doesn't want to rely on someone else's summary of the research, one really has to plow into the primary literature.

Workshops, webinars, presentations

One page, easy to read summary of research findings and impact on practice and/or behaviour

Traditional means of communication are great if you know how to access them and have the time to do so. Front-line practitioners and members of the public are usually lacking at least one of these requirements. Make it simple, in language that someone outside of health care can understand.

Accessible documents that allow for various populations to access research findings and implement their suggestions

There is always a gap in time between the creation of knowledge and the implementation of that knowledge. This gap may be in part due to the difficulty of access to research findings by those outside of academic circles. Relevant research findings should not be available only to those with paid access to peer-reviewed journal articles or the ability to attend conferences. A knowledge transfer plan for suicide research findings should include free public access to information in various forms, such as online materials and print materials in accessible language. By working together to close the knowledge transfer gap, we can quicken the uptake of new, evidence-based practices, and overall improve the ability of communities at large to strengthen suicide prevention efforts.

Hit me with some TED talks with a small smattering of peer-reviewed articles, easily digestible information with a lot of meat