Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Bahareh Afsharnejad; Ben Milbourn; Cherylee Brown; Rhonda Clifford; Kitty-Rose Foley; Alexandra Logan; Stephan Lund; Tawanda Machingura; Tomomi McAuliffe; Beth Mozolic-Staunton; Nicole Sharp; Maya Hayden-Evans; Ellie Baker Young; Melissa Black; Frank Zimmermann; Viktor Kacic; Sven Bölte; Sonya Girdler

doi:10.1111/sltb.12978

Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students

Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2023 Oct;53(5):725-738. doi: 10.1111/sltb.12978. Epub 2023 Aug 1.

Authors

Bahareh Afsharnejad^{1

2

3}, Ben Milbourn^{1

2

3}, Cherylee Brown⁴, Rhonda Clifford⁵, Kitty-Rose Foley⁶, Alexandra Logan⁴, Stephan Lund⁶, Tawanda Machingura⁷, Tomomi McAuliffe⁸, Beth Mozolic-Staunton⁷, Nicole Sharp⁹, Maya Hayden-Evans^{1

2}, Ellie Baker Young^{1

2}, Melissa Black¹⁰, Frank Zimmermann^{1

11}, Viktor Kacic^{1

11}, Sven Bölte^{1

2

10

12}, Sonya Girdler^{1

2

3

6

10}

Affiliations

¹ School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
² Curtin Autism Research Group (CARG), Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
³ enAble Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁴ School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health Science, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ School of Allied Health/Social Work and Social Policy, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
⁶ Faculty of Health, Southern Cross University, Bilinga, Queensland, Australia.
⁷ Faculty of Health Sciences & Medicine, Bond University, Robina, Queensland, Australia.
⁸ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia.
⁹ School of Health Sciences, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Women's and Children's Health, Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND), Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹¹ Klinikum Aschaffenburg Hospital for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Aschaffenburg, Germany.
¹² Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden.

PMID: 37526381
DOI: 10.1111/sltb.12978

Abstract

Background: Australian university students are at risk of experiencing poor mental health, being vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal ideation.

Aim: "Talk-to-Me" is a suicide ideation prevention Massive open online course (MOOC) previously showing it can support Western Australian university students' knowledge of identifying and responding to suicide ideation in themselves and others.

Methods: A multi-site one-group pre-test/post-test design with a 12-week follow-up explored the efficacy of "Talk-to-Me" for university students Australia-wide, evaluating the influence of COVID-19 and location. Overall, 217 students (55% female; m_age = 24.93 years [18, 60]) enrolled in this study from 2020 to 2021. Participants' responses to suicidal statements, mental health literacy, generalized self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, and overall utility of the program were collected at baseline, post-MOOC (10 weeks from baseline) and 12-week follow-up. The effect of time and location interaction was explored using a random-effects regression model.

Results: Findings indicated significant improvement in participants' knowledge of positive mental health support strategies (ES = 0.42, p < 0.001) and recognizing appropriate responses to suicidal statements (ES = 0.37, p < 0.001) at 10-weeks, with further improvement at 12 weeks follow-up (ES = 0.47 and 0.46, p < 0.001). Students reported higher generalized self-efficacy at the 12-week follow-up compared to baseline (ES = 0.19, p = 0.03) and an increased tendency to seek professional help for mental health issues (ES = 0.22, p = 0.02).

Conclusion: These findings provide preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the "Talk-to-Me" program in supporting ‎university students across Australia to increase their suicide-related knowledge and skills, ‎general self-efficacy, and overall mental fitness.

Keywords: Mass Open Online Course (MOOC); mental health education; suicide prevention program; university students.

Abstract

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