IntroductionSuicide rates are at epidemic levels globally, with New Zealand experiencing 538 suspected suicides last year. In addition to appropriately 40x more suicide attempts. Suicide devastatingly impacts approximately 135 people per death.
We know that at least 10% of suicides are by those bereaved by suicide. Maori and Pasifika are at higher risk.
The cost of impact of suicide is approximately $4.6m per death. This figure is broken down by 70% costs worn by close family and friends, 21% loss in productivity and 9% direct costs.
Suicide prevention, intervention and bereavement support is a complex ecosystem. It requires a number of stakeholders, services, community, whanau/family and friends to work together in a multi agency approach.
New Zealand has set a zero suicide ambitious through the Suicide Prevention Strategy 2019–2029 and Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2019–2024 for Aotearoa New Zealand. The Every Life Matters component encourage us all to work together towards a future where there is no suicide.
The vision clearly states: ‘We believe that every life matters and, by working together, we can achieve a future where there is no suicide in Aotearoa New Zealand.’ Delivering on this vision will reflect the achievement of two key outcomes – reducing suicide rates and achieving wellbeing for all.
About Hope UpstreamHope Upstream Charitable Trust is working towards zero suicide communities. If we swim upstream to identify causes of and solutions to suicidality, there is hope for zero suicide communities. We will be researching, evaluating and developing suicide prevention initiatives.
Our charitable purposes are as follows:
collating and mapping international initiatives and research on the topic of suicide prevention, as well as commissioning research and preparing white papers on this topic;
developing and evaluating new suicide prevention methods and initiatives using product design thinking methodology;
providing education to those at risk as well as support networks by running seminars, workshops and conferences to promote suicide prevention; and
promoting and advocating for changes to legislation, regulations and practices to deliver better services and programmes which can support those affected by, or at risk of, suicide.
This evaluation framework contributes to our first charitable objective, named The Hope Upstream Report.
The Hope Upstream Report
The Hope Upstream Report - a report showcasing suicide prevention initiatives from around the world achieving or working towards achieving outcomes with an initiative lens. The ultimate goal is to provide a menu of options that could be evaluated in a New Zealand context.
We will create an evaluation framework, conduct a global scan and then produce a report. The Hope Upstream Report is specifically for anyone or service in the suicide prevention community in Aotearoa. However, it may also be of interest to the global suicide prevention community.
In developing the evaluation framework, the Hope Upstream advisory group was convened to bring together thinking from Te Ao Māori, lived experience, academic and policy perspectives, which includes clinical, cultural and prevention expertise. This thinking, specific to Aotearoa New Zealand, has been brought together with underpinning international perspectives and current policy settings.
The evaluation framework has three Key Evaluation Questions (KEQ) and sub-questions under those.
