Background: The impact of suicide is profound for affected individuals, families and communities. Local key agencies, support services, and community groups can play a crucial role in responding to these impacts by identifying those at risk and providing support to the bereaved with a view to reducing community distress, adverse health outcomes, and preventing further suicide. While suicide postvention, including bereavement support has been recognised as contributing to suicide prevention, little is known about effective intersectoral implementation of postvention. Postvention Protocol Response Groups (PPRGs) can facilitate a coordinated service system response following a suspected suicide. They can mobilise a range of local services to provide early intervention support to impacted communities within an agreed framework that authorises shared inter-agency communication and guides collective actions. With several PPRGs now at varying stages of operation and a growing interest in PPRGs nationally, it is essential that key insights from their establishment be harnessed, and a solid evidence base be developed to guide their future implementation.
Methods: We used the Delphi method to obtain expert consensus regarding best practice implementation of PPRGs. The two-round online Delphi survey involved a panel of 30 Australian experts (comprising past and present PPRG members, postvention experts, and response beneficiaries) who rated statements in terms of their importance for PPRG implementation. People with a lived experience of suicide or suicide bereavement were vital to informing this study, as part of the research team and the project advisory group, and comprised 77% of expert panel members.
Results: The 126 resulting recommendations endorsed by 80% or more of panel members as “essential” or “important” regarding PPRG implementation covered key aspects of stakeholder management, governance, practice principles, operational aspects, data surveillance, preventative capacity, sustainability, and special considerations in rural areas. Expert recommendations provided the foundation for the development of a practical PPRG implementation guide that will be showcased at the conference.
Conclusions: This presentation outlines valuable expert guidance and practice-based evidence to inform the establishment of PPRGs in areas of need, enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of existing PPRGs, and strengthen the implementation of coordinated postvention responses.