How Manna Institute is addressing rural suicide

Led by Manna Institute Director, Professor Myfanwy Maple, the team emphasise the importance of not only developing, but evaluating suicide prevention initiatives targeting rural, regional and remote communities.

Rural Agribusiness Wellbeing Plan

This free, practical, online tool was developed to help agribusiness owners reflect on what they currently do to support their wellbeing and help to identify new ways to improve and maintain their mental health.

Working with farmers to break down barriers and promote wellbeing

The National Centre for Farmer Health has adapted principles of suicide safety planning to develop a wellbeing resource co-designed with farmers.

Potential to reduce youth suicide in rural Australia through the Preventure program

The Matilda Centre’s rural adaptation of the Preventure program aims to improve access to suicide prevention for rural youth by partnering with communities to adapt the existing evidence-based Preventure program.

Making connections and saving lives in rural Australia with I-ASIST

Eli Toombs, a proud Aboriginal man and the national Indigenous training lead for LivingWorks I-ASIST (Indigenous Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), provides insight on how the program can support suicide prevention in rural and remote Australia.

The role of GPs in suicide prevention in rural Australia

Access to healthcare in Australia can be challenging for people and communities living in rural and regional areas. General Practitioners working in rural and regional Australia are a common point of call for Australians who are living in these areas and experiencing mental health concerns and suicidal thoughts or behaviours.

Exploring the mental health needs of young people in rural and regional Australia

Existing research has examined barriers to young people’s help-seeking behaviours in drought-affected communities. Still, there is limited research about the types of support, programs and education that help to facilitate help-seeking. 

Researchers undertook a qualitative study to explore the barriers, needs and solutions of 14 to 15-year-olds in drought-affected rural and regional communities. 

Extreme drought and increasing temperature contribute to suicide rates in rural areas

Extreme weather events such as floods or droughts can negatively impact the mental health of rural communities and farmers, potentially leading to an increase in suicide rates. 

A recent study explored the impact of drought and hotter temperatures on monthly suicides by examining local areas in the Murray-Darling Basin during 2006-2016.