Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health Quarterly Report October – December 2017 About the CRRMH The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health (CRRMH) is based in Orange NSW and is a major rural initiative of the University of Newcastle and the NSW Ministry of Health. Our staff are located across rural and remote NSW. The Centre is committed to improving mental health and wellbeing in rural and remote communities. We focus on the following key areas: • the promotion of good mental health and the prevention of mental illness; • developing the mental health system to better meet the needs of people living in rural and remote regions; and • understanding and responding to rural suicide. As the Australian Collaborating Centre for the Integrated Foundation for Integrated Care, we promote patient-centred rather than provider-focused care that integrates mental and physical health concerns. As part of the University of Newcastle, all of our activities are underpinned by research evidence and evaluated to ensure appropriateness and effectiveness Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health T +61 2 6363 8444 E [email protected] 2 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au Contents Report Page Director’s Report 4 Snapshot of the Quarter 5 Rural Suicide Prevention Position Paper 6 Research 7 John Hoskin Library 8 Connections 9 Communications 11 Partnerships 13 Online Connections 15 Act-Belong-Commit 17 Good SPACE 18 Rural Adversity Mental Health Program 19 Staff Achievements, Training and Development 20 Appendix 21 3 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au Director’s Report Prof David Perkins, Director Welcome to our last report for 2017. This has been an extremely busy year and has ended on a high note. You will be aware that the CRRMH addresses three key questions: how can rural people be mentally healthy; how can we improve rural services; and, how can we help communities to reduce rural suicide. In December, we published our CRRMH position paper on the prevention of rural suicide. This process started with a consultation held at the 2017 Royal Sydney Easter Show with 60 representatives of health, government, agriculture, primary industries, and academia. The Governor of NSW honoured us with his presence. We asked attendees how we should address rural suicide which happens at substantially higher rates than in capital cities and does not seem to be improving. After the consultation, we examined the research evidence, sought expert advice and produced a position paper about how we can work together to reduce rural suicide. Most of the effort and investment at the moment focuses on how we can identify individuals who might die by suicide and how we might change that trajectory. This work needs to continue but it is not enough. We need to focus on those who are affected by suicide whether as survivors, families, neighbours, workmates, or school friends and we need to consider actions which will make a difference in the medium and long term. These require action at the regional and community levels. We need firstly to plan with vulnerable groups in the community to ensure their wellbeing. Secondly, we need to safeguard and strengthen children and young people so that they are not drawn to self-harm and suicide. Thirdly, we need to build healthy and resilient rural communities where factors such as isolation and extreme poverty are addressed and all members can experience a worthwhile life. Writing position papers, even very good ones(!) will not change rural suicide rates. We need to communicate widely and work in partnership with communities and a wide variety of stakeholders. This goes far beyond, but does not exclude, working with health services. We are pleased to thank our “communications partners” including the ABC and The Land, and we have attempted to engage Federal, State and local governments. This is the start of a long-term CRRMH commitment to work with interested parties basing our actions on best evidence and evaluating our actions to create new knowledge. There is further information about the position paper on page 6 of this report. May I thank our staff, our partners, and our Community Advisory Committee for their support and wish you and your families a happy 2018. 4 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au 2,594 people 2017 Glove Box attended training Guide launched courses with RAMHP Dec 9 2017 Publication of This quarter Rural Suicide and ARMHS results its Prevention: A Five papers in a CRRMH position accepted for snapshot paper released publication People linked to care through RAMHP Celebrated Mental Health Month with This quarter - 356 a host of activities Total for 2017 1,947 5 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au SPECIAL PROJECT: RURAL SUICIDE PREVENTION POSITION PAPER On 7 December the Centre published and released “Rural Suicide and its Prevention: A CRRMH Position Paper”, in response to the fact that in 2016 the number of suicides per 100,000 people in rural and remote Australia was 50 percent higher than in capital cities. The paper proposes five key focus areas for action to address the need to save rural lives now and to lower the number of deaths and rates of suicide in the future. Recommendations outlined in the positon paper draw on the suggestions and ideas obtained from participants who attended the CRRMH’s Rural Suicide Prevention Forum held at the 2017 Sydney Royal Easter Show, as well as local and international sources, and the CRRMH’s experience and research. Strategies outlined advocate that leadership for rural suicide prevention is needed at the Commonwealth, State and Local Government level. Local communities also have a role to play and are best-placed to identify local opportunities for suicide prevention, both in terms of how to help those who might be at risk of experiencing suicidality and how to improve the resilience of their community. The paper also provides concrete suggestions for addressing the high rates of suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, specifically looking at indigenous leadership and participation in suicide prevention strategies. Patron of the CRRMH, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d) Governor of NSW endorsed the Position Paper and says the purpose of this paper is twofold: to describe the problem and to suggest how we might address it based on the best available evidence. The Position Paper has been distributed widely to stakeholders throughout Australia and significant media interest has been generated. Work will continue in 2018 in further promoting and discussing the paper as we continue to advocate for action to decrease rural suicide prevention. The CRRMH welcomes the opportunity to partner with organisations that also wish to take action and have a positive The Centre’s Tessa Caton, Hazel Dalton and Vanessa Delaney with impact on rural suicide. the position paper The Position Paper and summary can be downloaded at www.crrmh.com.au. 6 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au Research This quarter saw the launch of a youth adaptation of the ‘How are you going’ poster and companion quiz, as well as a reader survey within the 2017 Glove Box Guide to Mental Health. See the Partnerships page for more information on these activities. Workshop Evaluation The We-Yarn evaluation looked at whether people are better equipped to address and respond to suicide after attending a We-Yarn workshop. Participants had fairly high levels of engagement and confidence, but modest improvements were reported. Recommendations for development of the workshop included the need for follow-up in communities to turn discussions into action and for content to be specifically targeted to health workers and community members. The findings will be disseminated to project partners in the coming months. Suicide Prevention National Suicide Prevention Trial - Service provider and community consultations and work plans for each of the four trial sites have been completed and submitted to Western NSW PHN. A final report is being prepared. National Coronial Information System - Data for the four jurisdictions included in the study (NSW, QLD, TAS and SA) has been extracted and coding of case reports (police, coronial, and toxicology) has begun. Publication of Australian Rural Mental Health Study (ARMHS) results has continued throughout 2017, with five papers accepted for publication and further papers under development. ARMHS Research Manager, Terry Lewin (pictures left) officially retired from his position in November, but will continue working on ARMHS in a volunteer capacity. Integrated Care The evaluation of the Central Coast Local Health District’s (LHD) Integrated Care Program continued in the fourth quarter with the completion of data collection. Analysis continues and a consultative draft was shared with the LHD and our international collaborators. The final evaluation report will be ready in early 2018, with research papers to follow. The CRRMH, especially the research team, would like to take the opportunity to thank Dr Kate Davies for her time with and contribution to research at the CRRMH. She will be taking a position outside of academia in January 2018. See page 27 for more detail on Kate’s contribution to the Centre. Compiled by Lucy McEvoy, Research Assistant 7 | The University of Newcastle – Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health crrmh.com.au John Hoskins Library The period Oct-Dec 2017 proved to be a slightly quieter period than the previous three months with the overall library use. The fact that a substantial proportion of December was holidays must be taken into consideration.