Dr Greg Armstrong awarded Innovation Research Grant from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Dr Greg Armstrong from the Nossal Institute at the Melbourne School of Population Growth and Health (MSPGH) has been awarded an internationally competitive Innovation Research Grant from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, for his project Optimising the protective effects of suicide content in the print media in India.

The grant amounts to $135,000 over two years.

Approximately 28 per cent of global suicides occur in India, where more than 17 per cent of the world's population live, and responsible media reporting of suicide holds promise as a low-cost suicide prevention strategy that could potentially save thousands of lives each year.

Dr Armstrong's project involves experimental research to optimise protective media messaging around suicide by unpacking which effects are caused by which specific reporting characteristics, using purpose-designed content.

Co-investigators on the project include Professor Jane Pirkis from the Centre for Mental Health, MSPGH), Associate Professor Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder of the Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre, Chennai, and Associate Professor Thomas Niederkrotenthaler from the Medical University of Vienna.