Q/A Session Sept 2024: What is the evidence base of the SafeSide Framework?
Question: What is the evidence base of the SafeSide Framework? Is there ongoing research on the effectiveness of the practices within the framework?
Answer: The SafeSide Framework is a map of best practices rather than a single intervention. Each core task within the framework - Connect, Assess, Respond, and Extend - and the skills under each task have their own body of evidence supporting their use in suicide prevention.
Research on comprehensive, systemic approaches such as the SafeSide Framework is ongoing. Randomised trials are the gold standard in determining effectiveness, but these are challenging in suicide prevention because once an intervention is known to be helpful, recruiting a comparison group that does not receive the intervention is complex.
Despite these challenges, ongoing efforts exist to study the practices included in the SafeSide Framework. These practices are also part of other comprehensive approaches in models like Zero Suicide, which combine multiple interventions to create a robust prevention system.
Studies in systems such as the Gold Coast Mental Health and Specialist Services, Henry Ford Health System and the US Air Force have shown reductions in suicide behaviours with the adoption of comprehensive, multi-faceted approaches.
These studies suggest that sustained focus and a combination of interventions can significantly impact suicide behaviours. While it is difficult to attribute causality without randomised trials, the available evidence points to these comprehensive approaches making a difference.
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