Open AccessStaff Perspectives of Safety Planning as a Suicide Prevention Intervention for People of Refugee and Asylum-Seeker Background
Author(s) -
Monika Ferguson,
Miriam Posselt,
Heather McIntyre,
Mark Loughhead,
Mary Anne Kenny,
Vicki Mau,
Nicholas Procter
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
crisis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.93
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 2151-2396
pISSN - 0227-5910
DOI - 10.1027/0227-5910/a000781
Subject(s) - refugee , intervention (counseling) , suicide prevention , nursing , asylum seeker , safety culture , psychology , coping (psychology) , occupational safety and health , medicine , poison control , medical emergency , political science , psychiatry , management , pathology , law , economics
. Background: Safety planning involves the co-development of a personalized list of coping strategies to prevent a suicide crisis. Aims: We explored the perspectives of workers regarding safety planning as a suicide prevention strategy for people of refugee background and those seeking asylum in Australia. Method: Participants attended suicide prevention training, specific to refugees and asylum seekers, at which safety planning was a key component. Semistructured, posttraining interviews ( n = 12) were analyzed thematically. Results: Four key themes were identified: safety planning as a co-created, personalized activity for the client; therapeutic benefits of developing a safety plan; barriers to engaging in safety planning; strategies to enhance safety planning engagement. Limitations: First-hand refugee and asylum-seeker experiences were not included. Conclusion: As a relatively low-cost, flexible intervention, safety planning may be valuable and effective for these groups.