National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Map - Launch
HAINS, Alex
Okay, welcome everyone.
Thank you all for being here.
It's great to have you all here joining us for the launch of the Outcomes Map, a landmark component of the National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework. It's lovely to see lots of familiar names jumping up and joining us online today, but for those that I haven't met, my name is Alex. I'm here as the head of the National Suicide Prevention Office.
Almost a year and a half ago, we launched the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, which outlines what an optimal approach to suicide prevention requires, and it has a clear focus on what's needed to ensure high quality effective supports, and it also has an emphasis on preventing people from experiencing suicidal distress in the 1st place.
HAINS, Alex 1:19
The strategy includes a number of recommended actions, one of which was to develop an outcomes map. And so to be here today, launching the outcomes map, represents a major instalment in the delivery phase of the strategy.
And it's another step towards Australia improving our collective effectiveness in suicide prevention more generally.
So great to be here. The combination of the strategy and the outcomes map will help to provide us with both a clear direction as well as a way of gauging progress towards that direction. And it measures progress not in terms of activity, but in terms of whether we are achieving the outcomes that really matter to people.
To do this, the outcomes map measures progress in a way that is more complete and more meaningful than what we have done before in Australia. In fact, we believe this is the first time that an approach this comprehensive has been applied to suicide prevention anywhere in the world. But I'll let some of our other speakers go into detail on what makes this outcomes map so special.
I would like to acknowledge the country on which I'm joining you all from. I'm coming from Darragh country here in beautiful Wollongong and I'd like to pay my respects to the traditional custodians of this land as well as the elders past and present.
And I also acknowledge the traditional custodians of all the different lands that you're all joining us from across Australia, including other First Nations peoples, if there are some joining from overseas.
It's been great working with a number of partners on this work and you'll hear from some of them today, but it's also been great working with Guy Dui, Proud Spirit Australia, who's helped us make sure that the national strategy and therefore the outcomes framework, which is based on the strategy, are aligned with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Strategy as well.
And now, it's my absolute pleasure to introduce Ben Brien, who is one of the co-chairs of our Lived Experience Partnership Group, who's going to provide a recognition of lived experience. Thanks, Ben. I have it to you.
Ben Brien 3:35
Thank you, Alex. It's a pleasure to be here and see many familiar faces. I also just want to briefly acknowledge the country that I'm meeting today from, which is the lovely Wiradjuri country here in Central West New South Wales, next to the Womble River. As co-chair of the Lived Experience Partnership Group, and as a person with a lived in living experience of suicide, I want to
recognise and pay recognition to people who have lived and living experience of suicide, their family, carers and kin, and to the many people that are affected and impacted by suicide. We know suicides are deeply subjective and personal challenge and affects so many people in so many communities, but to those who have lived in living experience of suicide behind each and every
number or name, there's a story and an experience, and I really want to echo that today, that the outcomes framework and the work today that is done is not representative of just the lived experience partnership group. Behind that is stories of resilience, of pain, and of healing, and it's really.
Powerful for lived experience to be at the heart of this work, and thank you.
HAINS, Alex 4:41
Thanks, Ben. We really appreciate you being here with us today for this. Before we get stuck into it, I just need to cover off on a few things. So your cameras and microphones will remain off during the webinar, including the chat function that will also be off. But we encourage you to use the Q&A function.
As we're hoping that there's going to be time at the end of the webinar to go through a few questions submitted there. So you'll have the chance to post questions to the speakers throughout the webinar.
We may not have time to get through all the questions, but we'll certainly do our best.
We don't expect the conversation today to be overly distressing, but we of course recognise that an emotional response can sometimes take you somewhat by surprise. So we encourage you all to do whatever it is that you need to do to look after yourselves, both during the webinar and afterwards, of course.
Just before we hear from our speakers, I would like to just take a moment to run you through exactly what it is that we're releasing today, because while the outcomes map is certainly the headline act, there are a number of other components that we're releasing today as well. So the entire outcomes framework, which you can see on the screen there,
HAINS, Alex 5:58
is made-up of multiple components. So today, we're releasing the outcomes map introduction document, which provides an overview of the outcomes map and includes some suggestions on how different people might use it to inform their work in suicide prevention.
There'll also be a data overview document, which provides detail on the types of data that underpin the outcomes map and how it's going to be collected and analyzed, et cetera. Then there's the outcomes map itself, of course, which has been provided in the form of an interactive PDF. And this enables you to look through all the outcomes and the data measures that will be used.
to measure progress in suicide prevention, or you can dive straight into specific elements that you're focused on at any particular time.
There's also the data quality framework. This takes you through the criteria the data had to meet in order to be included in the outcomes map. And this will inform how we improve data over time as well.
And then finally, the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare will today be releasing on their website a technical workbook, which provides you with really all the details you could possibly need about each of the data measures that are included. And so together, these components, as you can see, really start to fill out the number of pieces of the puzzle.
that make up the outcomes framework as a whole.
So we're going to talk you through the outcomes map in more detail today, but we of course encourage you all to have a look through all these resources after today's webinar.
I'll just take a sec. I'd like to thank our Lived Experience Partnership Group and our Advisory Board, our scientific advisors, and our colleagues from across all governments who have contributed an enormous amount of the professional and personal expertise to this work. While there's of course always plenty of work
Yet to be done, I hope that you can all feel really proud of what it is that's being released today.
So in today's webinar, we're going to hear from a number of people who are involved in the development of the outcomes map. But first, I would like to introduce the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, Emma McBride, who has been a big supporter of the strategy and the outcomes map. So thank you, Minister, for being here and over to you.
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 8:23
Good morning, Alex, and thank you so much for the opportunity to join everyone today on what is a really significant milestone. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land and where I'm joining you, the Ngunnawal people, as well as the traditional owners of the lands where you are joining us from across Australia and around the world.
I'd also like to acknowledge anyone with a lived experience of mental health challenges and suicide and thank Ben genuinely for the recognition of lived experience. And as you said, Ben, it is at the heart of everything that the NSPO and that we as a government working alongside you are working to do. Thank you for having me here today for the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Framework and a centerpiece, as Alex has reflected on, the
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 9:07
that and I having walked alongside the NSPO and lived experience and others, this is a significant milestone in Australia's approach and it shows how far we've come as a nation and importantly tracks the path of what we need to do next.
In Australia today, nine people die by suicide each day and around 150 more attempts to take their own lives. And as Vanessa said, these numbers aren't just statistics, they're people, they're family, they're friends and communities. And it's why we're all here. The framework we're launching is about making our efforts clearer, stronger and more impactful.
Put simply, it helps us understand what's working, what's not, and where collectively we can do more. It gives us a way to track progress over time and to stay focused on what really matters, saving lives and reducing suicidal distress. And this work, as Alex said, supports the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for 2025 to 2035, which I was proud to be part of the launch of.
last year. The strategy sets the direction and the framework helps us to measure, as Alex has said, how we're tracking. Are we actually getting there? And at the heart of the strategy is a simple idea. If we want to improve outcomes, we need to measure them properly. This means understanding the data while making sure people's real experiences
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 10:35
are heard. People with lived experience of suicide have played a key role in shaping this work and will continue to do so through its implementation. Their insights, honesty and courage have helped make sure that this framework reflects what people actually go through, not just what systems think is happening. And this matters because it's what's leading to real
and meaningful change. The strategy was developed, as Alex has mentioned, with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, with his own office, the National Suicide Prevention Office, along with expert service providers and community members. It brings together all of that collective knowledge together into something practical, something that can be used by anyone working in suicide prevention.
whether you're in research, frontline services, policy of the community. This helps you see how your work contributes to the bigger picture, to our collective goal. It also helps us to work in a more connected way rather than in isolation. Importantly, we've worked closely with First Nations partners, including Guy Ajui. This is essential.
Suicide rates among First Nations people are nearly three times higher than the national average. It's something that we may face directly and act on. And this framework is one step toward doing that better by listening, by partnering, by collaborating, and by supporting community-led solutions. And I want to be clear, our government
is committed to continuing this world-leading work. We're investing in services, more than $610 million in suicide prevention initiatives, including over $330 million for First Nations-led supports and around $200 million for crisis lines. But we know this isn't just about funding services. Suicide is complex.
It's shaped by many drivers. Mental health, yes, but also housing, education, employment, social connection. That means preventing suicide takes more than one system. It takes us all working together. We've also extended the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement through to June 2027. This means services can continue.
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 12:35
while we work on the next phase. It gives certainty to people delivering support and more importantly, to those people who rely on it. I also want to recognise the many people who have contributed to this work, people with lived experience, families, carers and communities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, researchers, practitioners and service providers.
Your work, often behind the scenes, makes a real difference. The framework we're launching today builds on that effort. It helps us to plan better, to set clear priorities, to track progress honestly, and most importantly, to improve outcomes for people. Because that's what this is all about. Turning those daily numbers around, reducing distress, saving lives.
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 13:19
and making sure every Australian can access the support they need when they need it. Thank you. Thank you, Alex. I will have to leave shortly. It is a sitting day and we are expecting some divisions, but I just, if I can thank again, Alex, to you and the team at the NSPO, to Guy Dewey, to the lived experience peaks.
to everybody who has contributed to what is world leading work and to have the first national strategies and now to have the outcomes map really is meaningful, it is significant. And I want you, while recognising we all know collectively there is more to do, to be proud of today,
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 13:57
to celebrate this significant achievement and to thank everybody who has been such a big part of it and its continuing success. So thank you for the opportunity to join you today.
HAINS, Alex 14:09
Thanks, Minister. Really appreciate you being with us. And thank you for your ongoing support for suicide prevention and in particular, your support for a whole of government preventative approach. We really, really value that. So thank you.
ACT.APH.R2.110 Minister McBride 14:23
Thank you. It's a pleasure.
HAINS, Alex 14:25
I'd now like to introduce Professor Nicholas Proctor, who is the Chair of Mental Health Nursing at Adelaide University. He's also Australia's national representative on the International Association for Suicide Prevention and perhaps his most beloved role, he's also the Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Officers
HAINS, Alex 14:46
advise your board. So Nicholas, thanks for being part of this today and over to you.
Nicholas Procter 14:52
Thanks very much, Alex. I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the lands that I'm coming to you from today, the Kaurna people, elders past, present and emerging, and the very important work that's being done for the prevention of suicide for Aboriginal people, and lived and living experience, people who can be our teachers, helping us to
Acknowledge outcomes for people who experience suicide.
It's a real pleasure to be here as Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Office Advisory Board. The outcomes map represents a significant step forward in understanding the experiences of people whose lives have been impacted by suicide. For the first time, it will provide the evidence needed to better support individuals and help
prevent future suicidal distress and suicidal crises before they occur. Now, at its core, this work is about mapping outcomes of person-centred approaches in suicide prevention. The outcomes map recognises the importance of understanding an individual circumstances
their story of suicide, responding with comfort, safety and support in ways that are age appropriate, gender appropriate, culturally safe and developmentally appropriate. And these are responses that fit the person, their context and the drivers contributing to their distress. It places a spotlight on person-centred outcomes.
to better understand what support is needed and the nuances required to give that person the compassion and comfort that they need. This is firsthand information from people directly involved at scale. Outcomes mapping will strengthen our national understanding by drawing on the experiences of people who have lived through suicidal distress.
those who have cared for someone experiencing suicidal distress and those who have lost loved ones to suicide. This brings us closer to understanding the impacts of what it means when people feel heard, understood, connected, valued and safe in the interactions they have with individuals, services, systems and communities.
And the evidence shows these experiences are important in the prevention of suicide. The importance is around relational safety and creating the conditions for support that is meaningful and responsive and right for the person. Knowledge that's critically important in suicide prevention.
preventing the onset, escalation and recurrence of suicidal suffering, providing greater insight into what promotes compassion, reduces stigma and supports non-judgmental responses, helping us to understand what enables people feeling connected, feel more connected with and across services.
Systems, providers, and communities, and support networks for the outcomes that they are seeking.
empowering individuals, families and communities with knowledge of what is possible, what works and what strengthens, reasons for living and living a life with meaning and purpose. These are steps that we take in our work and they're beneficial not only for people experiencing distress, but these are steps that services, systems and leaders
can embrace and lean into and be responsible for supporting. The outcomes map will help us better understand these outcomes that matter most. Lived experience is and will continue to be at the heart of this work. Australia is now so well positioned to map and understand these outcomes.
Experiences that are at scale at a time that's never previously been possible.
I'm personally grateful and on behalf of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Board, we're extremely appreciative of the work and the leadership provided by the National Suicide Prevention Office. This is leadership to strengthen our national response to suicide prevention through evidence, lived experience,
and a deeper understanding of what truly helps people when they need it most. Back to you, Alex.
HAINS, Alex 19:07
Thanks, Nicholas. We really appreciate your passion for this work and the work that you've done in suicide prevention over many years. So great to have you with us today. So thank you.
I'm now going to pass the mic over to a lovely little gang of people. We've got Imbi Pyman, Ben Brien, Chris Trupp and Jordan Frith, who are all members of the National Suicide Prevention Officers Lived Experience Partnership Group. So all of them have been really deeply involved.
in the development of the national strategy and now also the National Suicide Prevention Outcomes Map. So they're going to talk us through some of that experience. So I'm not sure who exactly I'm passing the mic to, but over to you. Thank you.
Ben Brien 19:54
Thank you very much, Alex. So as members of the LEPG, we're going to talk about the reflections of involving lived in living experience and the development. I might just pause, I've introduced myself briefly, but I might just throw it to Imbi, Chris, and then Jordan to introduce themselves as well briefly. Thank you.
imbi 20:15
Hi Ben and everyone, thank you for having me. My name is Imbi Pyman and I'm equal co-chair with the wonderful Ben and it's a pleasure to be here and be part of the LEPG. So thank you.
Ben Brien 20:28
Thanks, Imbi.
Chris Trupp 20:31
Hi everyone, my name's Chris. I've been a part of the Lived Experience Partnership Group since its inception in late 2022, and it's been a total pleasure to work alongside the NSPO. Thanks.
Ben Brien 20:46
Thanks, Chris.
Jordan Frith 20:47
Hi everyone, I'm Jordan. I hope you can all hear me. Apologies for technical difficulties. I'm wearing a very nice shirt today that no one gets to see. I've also been a member of the Lived Experience Partnership Group since its inception and very happily hailing from Yuggera and Turrbal country. So
Happy to be with you a little bit invisibly, but looking forward to today.
Ben Brien 21:13
Thank you, Jordan, for being here invisibly with very much of A presence. And I just wanted to echo that the Lived Experience Partnership Group has a number of members that are here with us today in this session, I'm sure, and have been involved, and it's been a real privilege. So I just wanted to start by saying it really is great to see such an interest here in the hundreds of people that are
join to understand and hear about the outcomes map. Speaking for the LEPG members, particularly my own experience, you know, going through this process of co-design and co-development and really co-discovery, it's been really rewarding, and it's something that we've took, you know, with great privilege and significance, knowing that what we were doing.
We have a great deal of responsibility as people with lived and living experience for the lived experience community, but for people impacted by suicide largely. You know, lived and living experience of suicide and mental health and challenges really were at the development of the strategy and thereby through to the outcomes map, you know, through...
to the focus of these goals and outcomes. This slide shows some 50 or 61 different frames of work across 10s of hours of work, you know, multiple breakout sessions, 10s of meetings, and I think we can't even quantify just the amount of work and conversation, and kudos to the NSPO for putting this so succinctly.
Ben Brien 22:35
So we're going to talk today about the reflections and the experience. And I might start by handing over to Chris, who's going to talk about some of the ways that the NSPO and the LEPG came together. Over to you, Chris.
Chris Trupp 22:48
Thanks, Ben. Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the Yuggera and Turrbal people as the traditional owners of the land I'm calling in from in beautiful Brisbane this morning. Like Ben said, I'll be speaking to how we collaborated to bring this together and the underpinning of lived experience in the map.
One of my personal reflections is about how the LEPG and the NSPO came together to produce the outcomes map, and in particular how the space was held and how it was intentional throughout the entire process.
So to give everyone a little bit of background, the NSPO and the lived experience partnership group set out to meet as equals with no preconceptions to co-develop the outcomes map in a true partnership, setting a schedule to map out the development as you can see on the slides.
Due to this spirit of partnership, it was really important to mutually establish ways of working before we got stuck into the work. So some of these ways of working were outlined in shared understanding in a one-on-one session that we had together where everyone could show up authentically and be curious about the intention of the map.
We agreed on a schedule to make sure our sessions were sustainable and constructive, instead of trying to rush the process and end up with an ineffective product. We also used smaller intimate groups for the deeper conversations, while making sure that everybody stayed connected.
and everybody felt they were able to share their progress and the lessons learned when coming together as a larger group regularly.
Looking back and reflecting for me, the development of the outcomes map was a particularly satisfying body of work to be involved in because it truly lays out ways the rubber can hit the road. The approach that was taken created space for authentic collaboration by setting collaborative ways of working
making space for exploration of concepts and ideas, and allowing both the Lived Experience Partnership Group and the National Suicide Prevention Office to be curious about each other's approaches and perspectives. We could co-develop an outcome map that is both ambitious and based in reality.
My other reflection is on the lived experience anchor of the critical enablers and of the outcomes map. So essentially, when embedding lived and living experience of particular interest, as I said, was the critical enablers of the map.
So being a visual person, when you look at the map itself, the critical enablers act as a foundation for all of the other domains. It's very satisfying to see lived in living experience clearly underpinning the key objectives in domains such as social inclusion, navigating life transition,
culture of compassion, system level coordination and so on.
What stands out in particular is the underpinning of collaboration across government and the commitment to map and embed lived experience in the suicide prevention system.
As someone who has had a career in the peer space for a number of years and has seen firsthand the impact of lived and living expertise and the impact it can have on the system decision making and policy, I feel really deeply validated to see it front and centre in the outcomes map.
Thanks, back to you, Ben.
Ben Brien 26:36
Thank you, Chris, and really wonderful and insightful reflections. I think, you know, as we reached a point here, you know, we've prepared to do the work and we really had to come understand where we were, get back to a really blank slate, and then focus on how we think about and scope out the basis from the outcomes map, particularly ensuring that we stay true to the principles of lived and living experience and honouring lived expertise.
So this included, you know, exploring starting from a really clear blank slide about how could the outcomes map use the strategy as its foundation and how we ensure that lived and living experiences is really embedded in these outcomes. So you can see here again more and more of these slides and various different sessions of the process we undertook.
And we took, I suppose, really meaningful time and really good, robust conversations about how we unpack that and explore what our individual understandings of it were, given that we are a really diverse lived experience partnership group. We then moved sort of from an individual understanding and then a group's understanding into really where we conceptualise the first, what I've called the paramount outcome stage,
which is where we started to really think about how these outcomes translate to both our diverse contexts as individuals and communities, but also within the sector and the suicide prevention sector and within the workforce. You know, importantly reflected on how the language can actually influence engagement. We know that for some people,
particularly within sectors, that language is really important, both the impact for people, but for services and systems. And I think this is where we started to really firm up and understand the direction.
I'm really happy to throw to Imbi, who's gonna talk to you know, exploration of those breakout sessions and some of the domains. Imbi.
imbi 28:36
And very typically with the NSPO, they've been trying to help me with that too, and a special thanks to Michael. So look, thank you, Ben. For myself, the domains of prevention and support resonated strongly. Throughout both, and particularly with the time afforded in the breakout sessions, we were able to
imbi 28:55
share the stories, the experiences and the knowledge to drive the conversation in a very real and very person-centered way. Support in what works and is available is often driven by circumstance or even just good luck, and that's something that needs to change. An example for our family and for our youngest son
was an extraordinary police officer who worked in sexual assault and who for many, many months checked in regularly to see how we were coping and who provided tangible and meaningful connexion when we needed it the absolute most. Before his life unravelled, that same son won his primary school public speaking competition.
where he told the story that many of you may already know. It's the one where the old man walking along the seashore watches a child hurl one starfish back into the ocean after it had been washed up on the beach. There were hundreds. When he speaks to the child and he says, why bother? There are too many to save.
The simple response was, well, I can save that one, because every story matches.
My son and our family were a saved starfish and we were lucky. That is why measuring the outcomes that matter to people matter. To that police officer, we weren't just a number and neither was she ticking a box. We're here and we're able to share what this person did to make a difference for us.
And it's important that governments, that services and that communities can hear what actually works. So this framework that I'm incredibly proud of, like all of us involved, connects stories like ours to the data so there's a depth in understanding of how people experience prevention and support.
because many starfish need saving. I do just want to add that for me, it's an absolute honour and privilege to be part of the LEPG, to work alongside the extraordinary NSPO, where we're reminded that meaningful change happens when lived experience is not only heard, but genuinely valued and embedded in the decision making.
and help strengthen the evidence base of the critical work that they're doing. So thank you for having me today.
Ben Brien 31:14
Thank you, Imbi. Such a beautiful reflection and there's so many staff issues out there in that regard. I just want to say it's a privilege to work with such beautiful people within the LEPG and the NSPO. Thank you. Now I might throw to Jordan, who's going to talk to us about the collective and community impacts and some of the refinement.
Over to you, Jordan.
Jordan Frith 31:36
Yeah, and lots of love from the webinar for you, Imbi. I just want to call attention for that. One of the key challenges that we were exploring in the development of the outcomes map is, you know, it's quite an academic exercise, but it also has deep
value and significance for individuals, families, communities and populations. So once we kind of got through this initial formative development process that Ben and Chris and Imbi have spoken to in mapping against those domains, we had to take a bit of a broad looking test
the outcomes across a few different axes. So part of that meant looking at it at a meso and a macro level, so speaking in terms of communities versus speaking in terms of populations. How can we get the outcomes to describe what's happening at a really large level so that we can get that meaningful data about trends?
but also how can we speak about outcomes that are meaningful for specific communities and their contexts. And we also played around a lot with the language. So did we want to speak in first person in the outcomes or did we want to speak in third person? We needed outcomes that were person centered, but we also needed to be able to communicate that these were about more than
say, an individual journey or experience. They were about broad level outcomes that multiple communities and populations would see themselves resonated in, and eventually be landed on these first person strengths based outcomes that you see in the final version.
Over the next period of time, we spent a lot of time refining all of these pieces. So I think it was, you know, dozens and dozens of different slides, as you can see from these mirror boards, but it was really, really important that we were able to test the outcomes to ensure that they were consistent within themselves.
but also that they were consistent across each other. We broke out into lots of little groups at the very beginning, but at this stage in the development process, we needed to come back together and look at them as a whole and see, when we talk about prevention, are we speaking in the same way as when we're speaking about what's happening in support? When we're talking about the critical enablers of these,
meaningful, are they generalizable, but are they also still resonant for what we want them to be resonant of? One of the most important kind of reflective processes for us as the lived experience partnership group is also recognising where we didn't actually necessarily have in-house expertise about the needs of different communities.
So the outcomes map itself is a whole of population outcomes map, but we still needed to make sure that the outcomes that were produced were reflective of legitimate needs of communities, because otherwise we unintentionally embed these cycles of disadvantage and marginalisation that we see in some.
large scale data collection. And this is where the consultation approach really shone. So you can see a very small snippet here of the number of people that were consulted and that included kind of representative agencies, lots of engagement with the government, lots of engagement with service providers as well.
to ensure that when we tested the outcomes that we had developed collectively, were they still resonance of the needs of different communities? And we want to acknowledge that we can't capture the voice of every cohort, but what we do hope is that what we've landed on, everyone can see a little bit of themselves in.
So, I'll throw it back to my lived experience partnership group colleagues to close us out.
Ben Brien 35:28
Wonderful and thank you to the LEPG members that are here with us today. I just wanted to tidy out and recap. This is obviously quite a lot of information and, you know, around a year and more work that's gone into this. You might even see a bow and some Isa bunny ears in there, which shows that we didn't shy away from this even on, you know,
you know, important dates and it really speaks to the partnership and relationships we have. It might move forward, just conscious of time. Just a quote here from the lovely Chris who's just spoken, which I think really speaks to the collaborative nature of the relationship between our group and the NSPO, but also the outcomes being strength-based and person-centered.
So we might move forward now into, we're going to do, try and do a learn by showing or by doing here. We can see we've got a PDF that's just loading up at the moment. It seems to be, yep, there we go. So for example here, I'm going to maybe go to you, Imbi, and say,
With this interactive map that we have here, if you were to want to, sorry, it's disappeared again. If there we are, if you were to want to look at a particular domain and an objective to steer through this PDF, could you maybe talk us through that and we'll steer through it?
imbi 36:45
Yeah, absolutely, Ben. Thank you. I think the map's great. If I need, it would help me with my technology, but we'll worry about that another day. The one that I would like to choose, please, is in the prevention area of suicidal distress, and I would really like to follow the map through for navigating life transitions.
Ben Brien 37:09
Wonderful. So we can see here that through the NSPO teams following with Imbi, so if Imbi wanted to look at the domain of prevention of suicidal distress, particularly understanding the objective of navigating life transition, you can see here that the description speaks to a very detailed description of that objective and the outcome, what the qualitative question is.
and then some of the indicators. So thank you very much for that, Imbi. So if I now say I wanted to go back to the primary map of the overview where we see the whole picture, and now myself wanted to go, okay, I'm really interested in the outcome of embedding lived experience. So if I wanted to look at the critical enablers, I can click through here and I can see an overview of this domain with the objectives.
We then click through to the outcome here, people with lived and living experience, which then includes the description, qualitative questions. If I could look at the indicators, please, NSPO. And then I'm able to also see the qualitative prompts that tell us, or that prompt us to think about that, and then the quantitative data measures. So that's that mixed methods reporting approach.
So then we can go back home or close that. And this takes us so an interactive document through which we can step through the outcomes map. So on behalf of myself, LEPG colleagues and the Lived Experience Partnership Group, thank you all for listening and for honouring delivered and living expertise at the heart of this work. Thank you.
HAINS, Alex 38:32
Thanks, Ben. Thanks, Jordan, Chris and Imbi. That was really awesome to hear your perspectives and experiences on this work. So thank you very much for that.
I'm now going to throw to Amy Marchesi from the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare, who's also going to be joined by Professor Miff Maple from the University of New England. They're going to talk through some of the work that has gone into the data considerations that underpin the outcomes map. So Amy and Miff, over to you.
Marchesi, Aimee 39:05
Thanks, Alex. So, hi everyone. My name is Aimee Martizi. I am from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and as mentioned, I work with the National Suicide Prevention Office on the establishment of the outcomes framework. AIHW also works closely with research experts led by Professor Mith Maple.
director of the MENA Institute at the University of New England, and it's together that our teams are shaping the data approach for monitoring and reporting and establishing the mixed and multi-methods process for this work. So I'm now going to take us through the data approach in a little bit more detail, including how the data was identified,
and the data quality framework. And then I will hand over to Mif, who will discuss the multi and mixed methods process for this work and why it's so important for our understanding of suicide prevention.
So just to start us off, when we are talking about multiple methods, we are referring to the use of both quantitative and qualitative data within the outcomes framework. These data sit underneath each of the individual indicators within the outcomes framework and are the most granular component, and that's highlighted here on the screen here.
On the quantitative side of things, data refers to the numbers. It is the numerical information that is expressed as proportions, rates, or averages. These data come from a wide range of national administrative, survey, and longitudinal data sets. This means that the outcomes framework can build on what is already happening in the data landscape,
while also finding opportunities and ways that this data may be improved over time. On the qualitative side, we mean narrative information. So this is drawn from people's stories and experiences and is captured through sources such as speech, text, images, reports, or even video. The outcomes framework will be collecting new qualitative data and also draw on existing data that's available across the country.
giving people the opportunity to share their experiences related to the goals, the outcomes and indicators. But importantly, it's the combination of both the quantitative and qualitative data that allows for greater insights and a deeper understanding of the concepts that they're being applied to. The numbers are then able to show us the scale and the direction of the change.
while the stories and experience are able to explain why a change is occurring and how suicide prevention efforts are actually experienced.
So with that overview in mind, we'll now have a look at how the data is identified for the outcomes framework.
The outcomes and indicators were explored in the first stage of development, where the focus was on the co-designed goals, outcomes, and indicators, and what people said mattered most, and this was without being limited by available data sources. Identifying data in the second stage meant that measurement was guided by these priorities and expanded the scope of data being considered well beyond the usual data sources for suicide prevention.
On the quantitative side of things, again, the research identified existing data collections from all over the country that related to the topics and concepts outlined within the outcomes framework. Relevant sources were reviewed to understand what information was being collected, and then measures were listed and mapped against the key areas. On the qualitative side of things, to facilitate primary data collection, there was the development of qualitative research questions.
These questions were developed by the university, reviewed by project partners, and also people with expertise in qualitative research who belong to or work with groups disproportionately impacted. The research questions form the base of new data to be collected for the outcomes framework, and then that is further supplemented by the secondary data.
And the secondary data is the already existing publicly available material that's then sourced for the purpose of the outcomes frameworks. So it was really once we had the quantitative data measures listed and then the qualitative questions developed that the outcomes map could really begin to take shape. And this of course, underwent multiple iterations, refinement and consultation over time.
An important part to call out here is the approach for developing the data quality framework. The data quality framework helps make decisions about what data is used and what improvements may be required. Its purpose is to ensure that the data used is reliable, appropriate, and is ultimately fit for purpose for use in the outcomes framework.
So there are 9 criteria which make up the overall quality assessment. The first one to 8 criteria, these draw on existing data governance frameworks and assess the technical aspects, such as having a trusted data environment, the data is timely, consistent, and coherent. These criteria were used to assess whether the data measures were suitable for specific source prevention outcomes.
The final criteria considered how well each measure fit the aims of the outcomes framework and helped explain what is actually happening in suicide prevention. This was assessed in consultation with people with a lived and living experience of suicide and also sector stakeholders to ensure that the data quality decisions reflected insights from a broad range of perspectives.
Extensive consultation was also undertaken throughout and informed the overall data approach, development of the data quality framework, and each iteration of the outcomes map. The NSPO and AIHW, alongside the NSPO advisors and partnership groups, engaged a wide range of stakeholders to shape the data that was included and ultimately the details that ended up being captured in the overall outcomes map.
This process brought in multiple perspectives into the data identification process. It highlighted key areas of interest and identified opportunities for where additional data could be added or where future data development should be focused. So now that we've touched on what data was included and how these data were identified, I'm going to start here an example of what this actually looks like in practice.
So firstly, we're starting quite zoomed out. Here is the outcomes framework and all of its key components. Focusing in on one of the key objectives, so here we've circled culture of compassion. We can then further zoom in to see the outcomes and indicators which sit beneath.
So for culture of compassion, here we can see that the outcome is people are supported to make, oops, sorry, people are supported with compassion and respect and experience supports the partner with them in making decisions. Underneath this outcome, there are then two indicators, and these are used to see and detect change.
within that outcome.
These indicators, they're then supported by data measures. And here we have the quantitative data measures listed, which is used to provide an indication of whether there has been progress and change within each of those individual indicators. The quantitative data is able to give us the ability to capture components that can be measured using numbers.
We also have the qualitative question. This is focused on being able to understand people's experiences from their point of view. This provides us with the qualitative data that is then shaped by people's stories, could be shared via a survey, within an interview, from a website, or even stories from newspapers, podcasts, social media,
or reports as well.
So therefore, what we actually have in the outcomes framework is both quantitative and qualitative data that sits side by side against each outcome and indicator within the outcomes framework. By including the population level data alongside lived experience measures, it ensures that the findings are more meaningful for suicide prevention. And this is able to show us the extent of the challenge and also how it's experienced in people's lives.
So I'm actually now going to hand over to Mif, who's going to continue with this example and really highlight that multi-end mixed methods approach. So thank you, Mif.
Myfanwy Maple 46:48
Thanks, Amy, and acknowledging that I'm joining joining today from the beautiful Gambangir lands of the mid-north coast of New South Wales, and to just briefly thank the NSPO and the Lived Experience Leadership Group for their vision with this work. I'm going to continue with Amy's illustration to provide examples. So what do the numbers tell us, and what do people's stories tell us?
So you can picture for culture of compassion, we have the quantitative data shown by the percentage sign and the qualitative data shown by the speech bubble side by side here, and the progress of those within the indicator and outcome. But if we zoom out further, you can imagine this same structure for the rest of the outcomes framework, which is a lot of data to help us assess what is changing in each of these key areas of the framework.
So this is how it looks when we use multiple methods, which involves us considering people's stories side by side with what the numbers tell us. This method occurs at the outcome and indicator level and are used in parallel.
But what happens when we mix these types of data together? This is what we call mixed methods, where we're bringing together different types of data and we're purposefully mixing them together.
So again, if we're looking at the overall outcomes framework model, it's the use of the multiple methods which then allows us to use mixed methods approach as we go higher up. That is a bigger picture as we zoom out.
By this we mean looking at the domain and goal levels, where synthesis of multiple data types collected over the framework can occur.
Utilising mixed methods at this stage allows us to think in both greater depth and greater breadth about how the numbers and how the experiences of people are showing up to see what's being achieved and what may need improvement over each domain and goal.
Using a mixed methods approach in the outcomes framework provides us with a greater understanding of what's happening in suicide prevention in Australia.
This is done by leveraging the strength of both quantitative and qualitative data.
It enables us to further understand people's experiences.
Myfanwy Maple 48:57
provides users, stakeholders and governments with better understanding of the impact and progress of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, and positions Australia as a world leader example in suicide prevention. This is a new approach at a national level. Embedding mixed methods in a national outcomes framework is ambitious.
and will continue to evolve over time as it is rolled out. It's exciting and it offers new opportunities to interrogate and understand what is occurring across the community and the sector.
By recognising the complexity of personal lived and living experiences and the factors that help reduce suicidal distress, the strategy and outcomes framework highlight the need to bring together both numbers and stories, the quantitative and qualitative data, to better understand this bigger picture. This approach strengthens our understanding of suicide across the intersections of health and welfare,
and brings greater significance nationally and internationally by supporting a more holistic and effective approach to suicide prevention. And I'll hand back over to Alex.
HAINS, Alex 50:02
Great. Thank you, Miff. Thank you, Aimee. We're super grateful for all the deep thinking that you and your teams have done to support this work. It's incredibly complicated, but you've done a great job making that seem understandable. So good job. It's a huge effort. It's great to see it starting to come together as well. So thank you for your...
your partnership on it. I'm now going to invite all of our speakers to come together as a kind of online panel. We've got some questions that have been posted. Thank you very much for those. As I said earlier, we'll do our best to get through these. We won't be able to get through all of them, no doubt, but we should be able to get through a couple and
have a bit of a discussion.
So I will first of all actually go back to Mif and Aimee, if that's okay. There's a question in there that's, I think, getting at how will the outcomes map help us to better understand what's going on for groups who are disproportionately impacted by suicide?
The question flagged culturally and linguistically diverse groups in particular, but there's also another question in there that's asking about geographical regions and things like that. So I just wonder whether you could help unpack how the outcomes framework might help us to get that better understanding of what's going on for certain groups.
Marchesi, Aimee 51:29
I can start us off if you like. From my perspective on AIHW side of things and working with more of that quantitative data. So we're looking at the national data collections that we can look at progress over time and within those and in the
outcomes map technical workbook that's gone live today. You can see some of those disaggregations that are available within each of the measures that were put forward, but that of course, the list of those disaggregations is not exhaustive and there may be opportunities to bring in supplementary data sources to further look at and investigate at different points in time groups disproportionately impact.
So that'll be something that we'll continue to look at in our work and explore what more specific data sources exist that could supplement what we have available that can help with the visibility if the disaggregation is not available.
HAINS, Alex 52:29
Thanks, Smith. Did you want to add anything to that?
Myfanwy Maple 52:32
I'm having a little bit of technical difficulties too. It seems to be the theme of the day, but hopefully I'm coming across okay. Just in adding to that, particularly with the qualitative data, so in the parallel component, similar to what Aimee has talked about, but as we start to sort of roll up and look at the broader level, we can look much more across
Myfanwy Maple 52:54
those different communities, making sure that people who are disproportionately impacted by suicide are seen more in the data and we can really understand and deeply look at the experiences through people's stories as well as the way that those groups show up in the quantitative data.
HAINS, Alex 53:16
Yeah, great. Thank you.
Okay, I've got another one. This one's probably for Nicholas to start with. So there's a question there about how will services work with the outcomes map, in particular services that are traditionally and perhaps deeply wedded to a more medical model? How do you see them
incorporating the outcomes map in their work.
Nicholas Procter 53:42
Yeah, it's a good question. I think one of the first places to start is to do mapping of your own within your organisation against the outcomes map. So what's the current way of working? How do we operate currently? Are we meeting the requirements and needs of the people that we serve?
And how does that compare with what we know at a national level? So this gives us national data that is so driven by the events and experiences and stories of people who have lived that moment. So that would be one of the first early places to start, which then might progress.
to making sensitive and sensitive revisions of current practises and shaping responses that really help align with the national trend.
HAINS, Alex 54:35
Yeah, great. Thank you, Nicholas. Maybe on the same same question, but Ben or Chris or Jordan, how would you how would you like to see the outcomes map influence what support services do?
Ben Brien 54:54
Who would like to take that?
Jordan's first off mute.
Jordan Frith 54:57
I'm happy to, I'm happy to speak really briefly, but I think there's kind of a multi-pronged approach that people with lived experience would like to see. I mean, one part of it is absolutely considering
HAINS, Alex 54:57
Looks like you've got the marked in.
Jordan Frith 55:16
you know, what is the distinct need of the community that you're serving? Because we still need to be able to differentiate those unique needs of people disproportionately impacted. But then also how are we working consistently, kind of nationally, regionally, at a jurisdictional level,
to all start speaking the same language. And I think that that's something that service providers can do in partnership with people with lived experience is develop that shared lexicon around these outcomes and the indicators that sit underneath them. And part of that may mean reframing the way that you
consider the data that you are currently collecting. Some of that may also mean developing or pushing forward to more innovative data collection methods. But I might throw back to my lived experience colleagues to add to that.
Ben Brien 56:13
Thanks, Jordan. I might just add, particularly drawing on another comment there, and my experience also working in health and primary health is when we think about not just the service delivery, but more upstream of that within the commissioning, the requirements that are in place for that, the reporting. I think commissioners, funders, and that multi-prong approach really need to understand the models that
are commissioned or required that they align with the outcomes in the outcomes framework and the outcomes map. I think it's important to think about not just service delivery, it's the experience of individuals, but on the regional and community levels and the organisational level, how do those outcomes or how can those outcomes align to the outcomes.
that are proposed in the framework.
Thanks, Alex.
HAINS, Alex 57:01
Chris or Imbi, did you want to add anything else?
imbi 57:06
No.
Chris Trupp 57:06
Just echoing what Jordan and Ben was saying about strategic approaches to data collection and also sort of aligning on all levels. So, you know, frontline, organizational, state, federal, and just speaking the same language. Yeah, just echo everything that's been said.
HAINS, Alex 57:28
Yeah, great. Thank you. Aimee, I've got a couple of questions which I think are probably best answered by you. Are you still there?
Marchesi, Aimee 57:39
Yes, I am. I am still here.
HAINS, Alex 57:40
You are? Okay, great. Great. So how will the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare utilise the expertise, et cetera, of other government agencies? For example, the example in the question that was given was the Australian Institute for Family Studies to support this work. So there's lots of
HAINS, Alex 58:00
data collection, lots of monitoring going on across different arms of government, including states and territories. How do you see the Institute kind of collaborating with other parts of this work to ensure that we get a fuller picture?
Marchesi, Aimee 58:13
Yes.
Yeah, of course. I think the most important part is alignment across all of the work that is happening in other spaces in government and local levels, data collection, to be able to draw on the expertise and the detail and input that's already gone into a lot of these data collections to be able to use this in our work as well.
So I think learning from what's already out in the data landscape, being able to bring that in to help inform our work and get those processes really robust throughout all of data collection, but also just learning from what's worked well and what may not have worked as well in
other data collections, big surveys, and what they've learned as part of that process to really bring that into what we're doing. So I think that's how we'll be using that information, but also there may be studies that are happening across different government organisations that we will be using. So perhaps we could work with those organisations to look at
the opportunity to disaggregate data further if that is something that we might be able to do within our work.
HAINS, Alex 59:23
Great. Thanks, Aimee. And perhaps the last one, maybe this one's for you, Mif, just to give Aimee a break. But how will this focus on outcomes be paired with other reporting that is already happening regarding activities to help us understand what has contributed
to any changes that we might see in outcomes.
Myfanwy Maple 59:48
Yeah, it's a great question and there's so much opportunity, I think, and it talks a little bit to the prior question too about how can services utilise this. And I would say particularly with the qualitative data, given that we don't like, there's a lot of it will be primary data collection, but there's also secondary data collection. So in different services, they could start reporting against particular indicators or
domains within the outcomes map that are relevant to their situation. And that also then can both benefit that service to be able to say this is where we're using this data and might align with other reporting requirements that they have, say, to funders, for example. But that also then, if it's made public,
say through annual reports and the like, could then become part of the secondary data collection that is collected for this purpose and reported on as well. So I think there's a dual pronged approach that can be utilised in this, given the breadth of this method, that also then allows for more depth. And I think there's, it's really empowering to.
service providers as well as to others to be able to do that.
HAINS, Alex 1:00:54
Thanks, Smith. And I can see we're getting a visual wind up. So we've reached the 12 o'clock endpoint. I will just quickly say there will be public reporting on the outcomes framework that the NSPO and the Australian Institute for Health and Welfare will be doing. And so everybody will get a good look at what we learn from this.
HAINS, Alex 1:01:14
That is all we have time for today. So thank you to all of our speakers. Thank you to all of you attending. We simply will not make the progress that we all want to make in service flood prevention without all of our collective efforts and without maintaining a relentless focus on the outcomes that matter. So please familiarise yourself.
with the strategy, if you have not already, and now familiarise yourself with the outcomes map and associated resources as well. There is a QR code on the screen for those who would like to stay in touch with the work of the National Suicide Prevention Office, including any updates on the remaining components of the outcomes framework as they're released.
And staying in touch also means you'll hear about other opportunities, perhaps where you could get directly involved in shaping this work too. So feel free to let others know who maybe couldn't be here today. So thank you very much for joining us. Really appreciate you attending and goodbye.
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