An examination of suicide research and funding in New Zealand 2006?16: implications for new research and policies.

Conclusions In the past decade, a substantial number of articles has been published and significant funding was invested in New Zealand's suicide research. The present review suggests that future research investments should focus on effective translation of research findings into suicide prevention programs. Several pragmatic recommendations are proposed to help improve the evidence base and reduce New Zealand's suicide rates.What is known about the topic? Suicide prevention continues to be a national public health priority for New Zealand. Although much is known about the prevalence of suicidal behaviours in New Zealand, less is known about how well suicide research has addressed prevention priorities and specific target populations. Australian research found that research funding and publications were dominated by epidemiological studies rather than evaluation or intervention studies. It is yet to be determined whether these research and funding trends also apply for New Zealand.What does this paper add? This study examined all peer-reviewed and published suicide research and all major suicide prevention projects that have been funded in New Zealand between 2006 and 2016. The purpose of the review was to summarise the evidence base, evaluate funding and determine the ability of the evidence base to inform policy development. The findings demonstrate that the New Zealand research trends are similar to those found in Australia, with most studies being epidemiological and few ...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research