Co-Designing and Evaluating a Suicide Prevention Workshop for General Practice and Community Staff in Rural South Australia

Objective: To co-design, deliver and evaluate a suicide prevention workshop aimed at improving the knowledge, skills and confidence of general practice and community staff in rural South Australia. 

Setting: A 2.5-h in-person workshop was delivered across three rural communities on the Eyre Peninsula, Australia. 

Participants: Sixty-seven individuals attended the workshop. Of these, 61 completed a pre- and post-workshop survey (91% response rate). Participants who completed the survey included practice staff (n = 27), mental health or psychosocial support workers (n = 18), community volunteers (n = 6), suicide prevention network representative (n = 4) and other (n = 6). 

Method: The design of the workshop was guided by Participatory Action Research principles and underpinned by the Double Diamond model. The workshop was co-designed by a multidisciplinary advisory group, including two individuals with lived experience. The objectives of the workshop were to help attendees to: (1) recognise verbal and non-verbal warning signs of suicidal ideation, (2) respond effectively to provide immediate support and (3) connect individuals with appropriate referral services. A mixed-methods pre–post survey assessed changes in participants' confidence, knowledge and skills aligned with these objectives, along with their perceptions of the workshop. Pre- and post-workshop responses were compared using the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, with statistical significance set at p < 0.001. Open-ended survey responses were analysed using a combination of deductive and inductive content analysis. 

Results: Statistically significant improvements were observed across all evaluation items from pre- to post-workshop, with the greatest gains in recognising subtle behavioural or emotional changes (1.25 points mean difference) and feeling skilled in knowing what services to recommend (1.28 points mean difference). Participants also reported high satisfaction (4.6 ± 0.73) and found the content highly relevant to their roles (4.5 ± 0.78). Content on referral pathways, local services and strategies for responding to suicidal ideation was identified as the most impactful. Including deeper coverage of culturally safe approaches for First Nations people, greater discussion around the differences among genders in the experiences of suicidality and more detailed exploration of specific mental health conditions and self-care strategies for staff were suggested as enhancements. 

Conclusion: The co-designed workshop effectively enhanced suicide prevention capabilities among frontline and community staff. Its success highlights the value of locally tailored, collaborative training that integrates lived experience and responds to community-specific needs. This model offers a scalable framework for workforce development in suicide prevention.