What is this project?
Although there may be various GP training programmes on suicide prevention in existence, there is very little formal assessment being conducted on their efficacy and effectiveness (e.g. Audouard-Marzin et al., 2019). There remains no general consensus on what elements should constitute a training programme for GPs on suicide prevention (Audouard-Marzin et al., 2019).
A systematic review on suicide prevention strategies highlighted the need for research to investigate elements of GP training and to evaluate the uptake of training to understand how best to provide GP training for suicide prevention (Zalsman et al., 2016).
The overall objective of this research is to evaluate the ‘Connecting with People’ suicide prevention training programme via two Work Packages: Work Package 1 will focus on the experiences of attendees of the programme and Work Package 2 will explore the opinions of key stakeholders in the development and implementation of suicide prevention training for GPs.
Findings from these work packages will be triangulated, with information from a literature review, to contribute to key recommendations for the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) and the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP).
Project Aims
- To examine the acceptability of the programme for the attendees (GPs and GP trainees) and to examine the effectiveness of the programme in achieving its outlined learning outcomes for attendees.
- To examine the opinions of key stakeholders, including the trainers and staff members in ICGP, NOSP and Connecting with People, in relation to the acceptability of the ‘Connecting with People’ suicide prevention training programme and to suicide prevention training for general practitioners in general.
The learning outcomes were as follows:
- Participants will learn of the clinical value of empathy and how to challenge stigma and its role in suicide prevention.
- Participants will develop fuller understanding of suicidal behaviour and the practical steps to take toward suicide mitigation.
Personnel Involved
Dr Paul Corcoran, Dr Clíodhna O’Connor, Doireann Ní Dhalaigh