Grant: Project Grant

Public Safety Personnel, which include all frontline staff who work to secure the safety of Canadians across the country, are often exposed to repeated trauma in the workplace. As a result, they often report higher levels of mental health problems, including self-harm and suicide, than the general population. Despite this, Canada currently has no suicide prevention strategy for PSP. To address this, this project asks, "What is the best suicide prevention strategy for PSP in Canada?". We propose to answer this question using four complementary approaches. First, we will a pair of reviews to gather information about PSP suicides and self-harm in Canada. The goal of these reviews is to identify risk factors for death by suicide among PSP, high-risk PSP groups, and what suicide prevention program components are most effective (i.e., what works, for who, and under what circumstances). Second, we will test the effectiveness of different suicide prevention components (individually and combined) using a technique called system dynamic modelling. Third, we will consult with key stakeholders (e.g., researchers, knowledge users, members of PSP groups, and decision-makers) to ensure that the model we develop is accurate. Finally, using the research we have gathered in the first three phases, we will work with these stakeholders to co-develop a suicide prevention strategy for PSP. Once the suicide prevention strategy for PSP has been developed, we will use a multi-layered knowledge mobilization strategy to disseminate it to key stakeholder groups.