Poster Round Two National Suicide Prevention Conference 2026

The National Ambulance Surveillance System: using public health data to inform policy   (#17)

Ryan Baldwin 1 2 3 , Glenn Melvin 4 , Ziad Nehme 5 6 7 , Bosco Rowland 1 2 , Dan I Lubman 1 2 3 , Rowan P Ogeil 1 2 3
  1. Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Richmond, Vic, Australia
  2. Turning Point, Eastern Health, Richmond, Vic, Australia
  3. Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University, Richmond, Vic, Australia
  4. SEED, School of Psychology, Deakin University , Burwood, Vic, Australia
  5. School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Vic, Australia
  6. Ambulance Victoria, Blackburn North, Vic, Australia
  7. Department of Paramedicine, Monash University, Frankston, Vic, Australia

Evidence-based decision making is a key pillar of effective suicide prevention. Population-level data facilitates a deeper understanding of the patterns, risks, and contexts of suicidal behaviours, informing service planning, resource allocation, and policy development. This presentation introduces the National Ambulance Surveillance System (NASS), an internationally unique resource providing comprehensive data on ambulance attendances related to acute mental health, and suicidal and non-suicidal self-injurious (NSSI) behaviours across Australia. The NASS systematically captures and codes clinical records from ambulance attendances, overcoming limitations of hospital or coronial data, which often underestimate the true prevalence of self-harm and suicidal behaviours. By identifying when and where suicidal behaviours occur, and documenting co-occurring factors such as alcohol use, violence, or mental health crises, the NASS offers an unparalleled tool to support suicide prevention research, practice, and policy.

This presentation will first outline the development, history, and scope of NASS, highlighting its value for identifying emerging trends, evaluating interventions or natural experiments, to inform targeted prevention strategies. To illustrate its application, we present a case study examining whether the established protective effects of school holidays on adolescent suicidal and NSSI behaviours have shifted in the post-COVID environment.

Using the NASS, we analysed weekly ambulance attendances for suicidal and NSSI behaviours among adolescents (12–17) and young adults (18–25) in Victoria between 2015–2019 (pre-COVID) and 2022–2023 (post-COVID). Across the study period, there were 57,145 suicidal and NSSI-related ambulance attendances, of which 36% (n=20,635) involved adolescents. Seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models stratified by age and gender identified significant declines in ambulance attendances during school holiday periods for both adolescent males and females, consistent with the protective effect reported in hospital-based studies. Seasonal declines, regardless of age or gender, were not evident post-COVID.

These findings demonstrate how the NASS can examine nuanced, temporal and demographic trends, providing a level of detail that is not possible with traditional data sources. The erosion of school holiday protection post-pandemic highlights the importance of ongoing surveillance to detect shifting patterns in suicidal behaviour and inform timely, tailored interventions. By combining population-level surveillance with practical case applications, the NASS offers a powerful resource to strengthen the evidence base underpinning suicide prevention policies and practices across Australia.