Evaluation of suicide prevention activities

6.6 Target group analysis

Page last updated: January 2014

Activities related to specific target groups are analysed in this section from two perspectives:

6.6.1 Comparison of individual and group level activities by target groups

The number of individual and group activities by target group is shown in Table 6-37. In each case, the number of activities is presented in rank order to indicate the level of individual and group activity directed to each target group. This in turn, provides an indication of the preferred mode of service delivery relative to each target group.

Overall, individual and group activities are implemented in roughly equal measure by each target group. In terms of number of activities, most of the target groups ranked in top ten individual activities (whole of community, men, people bereaved by suicide, Indigenous populations, people living with a mental illness, rural and remote communities, youth, people who have self-harmed, people who have previously attempted suicide, other) are also ranked in the top ten group activities. Likewise, many of the target groups that were represented in the lowest ranks in terms of volume of individual activities also occupied similar ranks in the group activity rank table.

Where marked differences in rank order occur, this signified a preference for one form of activity over another. For example, workforce was ranked eleventh for individual activities and first for group activities, thus indicating that group level activities were more common than individual activities for this target group.

    Table 6-37: Individual and group activities, by target group

    Target group
    Individual activities (no.)
    Individual activities (%)
    Individual activities (rank)
    Group activities (no.)
    Group activities (%)
    Group activities (rank)
    People bereaved by suicide
    2,889
    17.8
    3
    420
    17.3
    6
    Men
    3,826
    23.6
    2
    472
    19.5
    4
    Children
    418
    2.6
    12
    191
    7.9
    10
    Youth
    1,257
    7.7
    7
    375
    15.5
    7
    Indigenous populations
    2,674
    16.5
    4
    370
    15.3
    8
    People living with a mental illness
    2,649
    16.3
    5
    346
    14.3
    9
    People who have previously attempted suicide
    966
    6.0
    9
    172
    7.1
    11
    People who have self-harmed
    1,245
    7.7
    8
    130
    5.4
    15
    Rural and remote communities
    1,767
    10.9
    6
    472
    19.5
    4
    LGBTI populations
    325
    2.0
    15
    92
    3.8
    18
    CALD communities
    139
    0.9
    18
    157
    6.5
    12
    Refugee communities
    375
    2.3
    14
    140
    5.8
    13
    Older people
    393
    2.4
    13
    121
    5.0
    16
    People living with an alcohol or other drug problem
    273
    1.7
    16
    136
    5.6
    14
    Whole of community
    5,920
    36.5
    1
    555
    22.9
    2
    Workforce
    766
    4.7
    11
    976
    40.2
    1
    People affected by workforce redundancies
    64
    0.4
    19
    26
    1.1
    20
    People affected by natural disasters
    33
    0.2
    20
    12
    0.5
    21
    People at risk (no previous attempts)
    226
    1.4
    17
    111
    4.6
    17
    Those engaged with the justice system
    27
    0.2
    21
    27
    1.1
    19
    Other
    808
    5.0
    10
    477
    19.7
    3
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6.6.2 State/territory level comparisons of individual and group level activities

Table 6-38 shows the spread of individual level activity for each target group by state/territory. One of the striking features of this table is the number of states/territories in which no or limited NSPP-funded individual level activities were reported for specific groups. Examples include the absence of individual activities for Indigenous populations in Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and the low levels of activity for people bereaved by suicide in Northern Territory. Among the most surprising gaps is the absence of individual activities for:
  • LGBTI in almost all states, with 99.7% of activities for this cohort reported in Queensland.
  • CALD groups in all states and territories except New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.
  • People affected by natural disasters in all states and territories except Tasmania, particularly given the recent flood disasters in Queensland.
Furthermore, the NSPP-funded activities are not proportionality distributed by population size. For example, 83.0% of all individual activity related to children is provided in New South Wales and 46.7% of all individual activity related to people bereaved by suicide is provided in Victoria. Furthermore, only 0.3% of all individual activities related to Indigenous populations are provided in Northern Territory.

The spread of group level activities by target group and state/territory is shown in Table 6-39. When the group level data is compared with the individual activity data by state, it is evident that many of the gaps in NSPP-funded individual level activities are met by group level activities.

Despite the broad coverage identified for group and individual activities, a number of gaps are evident including:

  • No NSPP-funded group or individual level activities were reported for any of the following target groups in the following states/territories:
    • People who have self-harmed (ACT)
    • Rural and remote communities (ACT)
    • LGBTI populations (SA, WA, NT)
    • CALD communities (SA, WA, NT, ACT)
    • Refugee communities (SA, WA, NT, ACT)
    • Older people (ACT)
    • People living with an alcohol or other drug problem (ACT)
    • People affected by workforce redundancies (ACT)People affected by natural disasters (SA, WA, NT, ACT)
    • People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (ACT, NT)
    • People engaged with the justice system (Qld, NT, ACT).
  • No NSPP-funded group level activities were reported for any of the following target groups in the following states/territories (ie, only individual level activities reported):
    • Men (ACT)
    • People who have previously attempted suicide (ACT)
    • Older people (WA)
    • People affected by workforce redundancies (SA, WA)
    • People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (WA)
    • People engaged with the justice system (WA).
  • No NSPP-funded individual level contacts or activities were reported for any of the following target groups in the following states/territories (ie, only group level activities reported):
    • Children (NT)
    • Youth (ACT)
    • Indigenous populations (Tas, ACT)
    • LGBTI population (ACT)
    • CALD communities (Vic)
    • Refugee communities (NSW, Vic)
    • Older people (Vic)
    • People affected by workforce redundancies (Vic, Qld)
    • People affected by natural disasters (NSW, Vic, Qld)
    • People engaged with the justice system (Vic).
It is important to note that each state/territory government also funds a range of projects and activities related to mental health that may be similar to some of the NSPP-funded projects, and the fact that some of these groups are not targeted by NSPP-funded projects does not mean there is no activity in that area. Top of page

Table 6-38: Individual activities – target group by state/territory

Target group
NSW
Vic
Qld
SA
WA
Tas
NT
ACT
Unknown
Total
People bereaved by suicide (n)
78
1,333
418
131
464
115
2
254
58
2,853
People bereaved by suicide (%)
2.7
46.7
14.7
4.6
16.3
4.0
0.1
8.9
2.0
100.0
Men (n)
2,076
188
393
97
159
250
152
14
488
3,817
Men (%)
54.4
4.9
10.3
2.5
4.2
6.5
4.0
0.4
12.8
100.0
Children (n)
347
12
-
4
20
30
-
1
4
418
Children (%)
83.0
2.9
-
1.0
4.8
7.2
-
0.2
1.0
100.0
Youth (n)
29
75
882
13
128
14
7
-
16
1,164
Youth (%)
2.5
6.4
75.8
1.1
11.0
1.2
0.6
-
1.4
100.0
Indigenous populations (n)
1,996
-
351
26
287
-
9
-
5
2,674
Indigenous populations (%)
74.6
-
13.1
1.0
10.7
-
0.3
-
0.2
100.0
People living with a mental illness (n)
1,013
277
679
77
42
165
14
28
352
2,647
People living with a mental illness (%)
38.3
10.5
25.7
2.9
1.6
6.2
0.5
1.1
13.3
100.0
People who have previously attempted suicide (n)
100
109
250
64
41
29
13
1
356
963
People who have previously attempted suicide (%)
10.4
11.3
26.0
6.6
4.3
3.0
1.3
0.1
37.0
100.0
People who have self-harmed (n)
6
7
153
9
1,024
29
1
-
16
1,245
People who have self-harmed (%)
0.5
0.6
12.3
0.7
82.2
2.3
0.1
-
1.3
100.0
Rural and remote communities (n)
324
122
456
22
402
310
8
-
28
1,672
Rural and remote communities (%)
19.4
7.3
27.3
1.3
24.0
18.5
0.5
-
1.7
100.0
LGBTI populations (n)
-
-
324
-
-
1
-
-
-
325
LGBTI populations (%)
-
-
99.7
-
-
0.3
-
-
-
100.0
CALD communities (n)
22
-
110
-
-
7
-
-
-
139
CALD communities (%)
15.8
-
79.1
-
-
5.0
-
-
-
100.0
Refugee communities (n)
-
-
345
-
-
16
-
-
14
375
Refugee communities (%)
-
-
92.0
-
-
4.3
-
-
3.7
100.0
Older people (n)
45
-
260
3
21
62
1
-
-
392
Older people (%)
11.5
-
66.3
0.8
5.4
15.8
0.3
-
-
100.0
People living with an alcohol or other drug problem (n)
114
7
57
7
18
50
3
-
16
272
People living with an alcohol or other drug problem (%)
41.9
2.6
21.0
2.6
6.6
18.4
1.1
-
5.9
100.0
Whole of community (n)
594
524
955
355
305
63
97
28
2,954
5,875
Whole of community (%)
10.1
8.9
16.3
6.0
5.2
1.1
1.7
0.5
50.3
100.0
Workforce (n)
109
31
174
24
119
2
156
8
143
766
Workforce (%)
14.2
4.0
22.7
3.1
15.5
0.3
20.4
1.0
18.7
100.0
People affected by workforce redundancies (n)
3
-
-
3
4
50
2
-
2
64
People affected by workforce redundancies (%)
4.7
-
-
4.7
6.3
78.1
3.1
-
3.1
100.0
People affected by natural disasters (n)
-
-
-
-
-
33
-
-
-
33
People affected by natural disasters (%)
-
-
-
-
-
100.0
-
-
-
100.0
People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (n)
5
1
154
4
2
60
-
-
-
226
People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (%)
2.2
0.4
68.1
1.8
0.9
26.5
-
-
-
100.0
People engaged in the justice system (n)
14
-
-
2
5
6
-
-
-
27
People engaged in the justice system (%)
51.9
-
-
7.4
18.5
22.2
-
-
-
100.0
Other (n)
531
4
86
11
42
101
5
26
1
807
Other (%)
65.8
0.5
10.7
1.4
5.2
12.5
0.6
3.2
0.1
100.0

Note: Multiple responses permitted.

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Table 6-39: Group activities – target group by state/territory

Target group
NSWVicQldSAWATasNTACT
Other territories
Whole of Australia
Unknown
Total
People bereaved by suicide (n)
87
103
20
27
123
9
22
3
-
22
3
419
People bereaved by suicide (%)
20.8
24.6
4.8
6.4
29.4
2.1
5.3
0.7
-
5.3
0.7
100.0
Men (n)
113
77
46
13
13
34
148
-
1
14
2
461
Men (%)
24.5
16.7
10.0
2.8
2.8
7.4
32.1
-
0.2
3.0
0.4
100.0
Children (n)
72
68
14
10
2
4
2
5
-
10
3
190
Children (%)
37.9
35.8
7.4
5.3
1.1
2.1
1.1
2.6
-
5.3
1.6
100.0
Youth (n)
50
102
111
14
13
16
39
4
-
18
3
370
Youth (%)
13.5
27.6
30.0
3.8
3.5
4.3
10.5
1.1
-
4.9
0.8
100.0
Indigenous populations (n)
98
67
47
18
78
3
23
3
-
15
2
354
Indigenous populations (%)
27.7
18.9
13.3
5.1
22.0
0.8
6.5
0.8
-
4.2
0.6
100.0
People living with a mental illness (n)
111
64
62
10
19
8
28
2
-
21
3
328
People living with a mental illness (%)
33.8
19.5
18.9
3.0
5.8
2.4
8.5
0.6
-
6.4
0.9
100.0
People who have previously attempted suicide (n)
54
34
47
5
3
7
1
-
-
19
2
172
People who have previously attempted suicide (%)
31.4
19.8
27.3
2.9
1.7
4.1
0.6
-
-
11.0
1.2
100.0
People who have self-harmed (n)
29
27
44
3
2
5
2
-
-
17
1
130
People who have self-harmed (%)
22.3
20.8
33.8
2.3
1.5
3.8
1.5
-
-
13.1
0.8
100.0
Rural and remote communities (n)
170
64
72
14
101
13
4
-
-
25
1
464
Rural and remote communities (%)
36.6
13.8
15.5
3.0
21.8
2.8
0.9
-
-
5.4
0.2
100.0
LGBTI populations (n)
27
6
30
-
-
11
-
1
-
16
1
92
LGBTI populations (%)
29.3
6.5
32.6
-
-
12.0
-
1.1
-
17.4
1.1
100.0
CALD communities (n)
22
20
26
-
-
71
-
-
-
16
2
157
CALD communities (%)
14.0
12.7
16.6
-
-
45.2
-
-
-
10.2
1.3
100.0
Refugee communities (n)
9
6
47
-
-
73
-
-
-
5
-
140
Refugee communities (%)
6.4
4.3
33.6
-
-
52.1
-
-
-
3.6
-
100.0
Older people (n)
30
23
36
5
-
9
1
-
-
15
1
120
Older people (%)
25.0
19.2
30.0
4.2
-
7.5
0.8
-
-
12.5
0.8
100.0
People living with an alcohol or other drug problem (n)
32
33
38
10
1
3
4
-
-
13
2
136
People living with an alcohol or other drug problem (%)
23.5
24.3
27.9
7.4
0.7
2.2
2.9
-
-
9.6
1.5
100.0
Whole of community (n)
183
81
26
33
54
21
51
7
-
81
8
545
Whole of community (%)
33.6
14.9
4.8
6.1
9.9
3.9
9.4
1.3
-
14.9
1.5
100.0
Workforce (n)
301
152
54
22
174
26
168
10
-
58
2
967
Workforce (%)
31.1
15.7
5.6
2.3
18.0
2.7
17.4
1.0
-
6.0
0.2
100.0
People affected by workforce redundancies (n)
10
6
3
-
-
1
1
-
-
3
-
24
People affected by workforce redundancies (%)
41.7
25.0
12.5
-
-
4.2
4.2
-
-
12.5
-
100.0
People affected by natural disasters (n)
1
3
2
-
-
3
-
-
-
3
-
12
People affected by natural disasters (%)
8.3
25.0
16.7
-
-
25.0
-
-
-
25.0
-
100.0
People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (n)
31
28
26
3
-
8
-
-
-
14
1
111
People at risk (no previous attempts of suicide or self-harm) (%)
27.9
25.2
23.4
2.7
-
7.2
-
-
-
12.6
0.9
100.0
People engaged in the justice system (n)
4
15
-
3
-
1
-
-
-
3
1
27
People engaged in the justice system (%)
14.8
55.6
-
11.1
-
3.7
-
-
-
11.1
3.7
100.0
Other (n)
87
175
31
24
7
18
4
7
1
105
15
474
Other (%)
18.4
36.9
6.5
5.1
1.5
3.8
0.8
1.5
0.2
22.2
3.2
100.0

Note: Multiple responses permitted