The purpose of the New Zealand Suicide Prevention Strategy 2006–2016 is to reduce the rate of suicide and suicidal behaviour, harmful impacts associated with suicide and inequalities in the prevalence of suicide and suicidal behaviour.
The New Zealand Suicide Prevention Action Plan 2013–2016 outlines a programme of actions for government implementation. Through Action 3.1, the Ministry funded both the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills training (ASIST) and a pilot of the Question Persuade Refer online training programme. These programmes contribute to preventing suicide by improving the knowledge of community members so they can identify and support individuals at-risk of suicide and refer them to appropriate services for help.
In August 2014, the Ministry commissioned Dr Pam Oliver and Associates to evaluate both training programmes. The focus areas were the effectiveness of programme delivery, impact/outcomes, cultural competencies, programme improvement, value for money and recommendations for future programme delivery.
A second evaluation, Evaluation of the QPR suite of programmes 2015, was later carried out. This evaluation and subsequent report examines the full suite of Question Persuade Refer programmes (these programmes were not within the scope of the first evaluation).
The reports contain a number of conclusions and findings for both training programmes and outline next steps as a strategic response to meet the Ministry's suicide prevention training needs.
The Ministry has considered all findings and thanks the researchers for their recommendations. The views and recommendations remain those of the independent authors and may in certain respects differ from the views held by the Ministry.