Canadian Research and Knowledge Translation Agenda on Suicide

Why are the number of male suicides highest between the ages of 45-59?

Male mid-life can be deadly

Why is the number of male suicides roughly 3 times higher than that of females in most age categories?

Gendering suicide

What’s the relationship at a population level between macro-economic and social trends and suicide & what’s this mean for policy/programs?

Education, within primary schools, on developing appropriate behavioral and coping skills that is effective in reducing suicide rates

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.

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.

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.

Summaries of research findings, information sheets, with original research studies well cited. Both online and print materials.

Workshops, webinars, presentations

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.