@article{ref1,
title="Understanding the utility of "Talk-to-Me" an online suicide prevention program for Australian university students",
journal="Suicide and life-threatening behavior",
year="2023",
author="Afsharnejad, Bahareh and Milbourn, Ben and Brown, Cherylee and Clifford, Rhonda and Foley, Kitty-Rose and Logan, Alexandra and Lund, Stephan and Machingura, Tawanda and McAuliffe, Tomomi and Mozolic-Staunton, Beth and Sharp, Nicole and Hayden-Evans, Maya and Baker Young, Ellie and Black, Melissa and Zimmermann, Frank and Kacic, Viktor and Bölte, Sven and Girdler, Sonya",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Australian university students are at risk of experiencing poor mental health, being vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal ideation. <br><br>AIM: &quot;Talk-to-Me&quot; is a suicide ideation prevention Massive open online course (MOOC) previously showing it can support Western Australian university students' knowledge of identifying and responding to suicide ideation in themselves and others. <br><br>METHODS: A multi-site one-group pre-test/post-test design with a 12-week follow-up explored the efficacy of &quot;Talk-to-Me&quot; for university students Australia-wide, evaluating the influence of COVID-19 and location. Overall, 217 students (55% female; m(age)  = 24.93 years [18, 60]) enrolled in this study from 2020 to 2021. Participants' responses to suicidal statements, mental health literacy, generalized self-efficacy, help-seeking behavior, and overall utility of the program were collected at baseline, post-MOOC (10 weeks from baseline) and 12-week follow-up. The effect of time and location interaction was explored using a random-effects regression model. <br><br>RESULTS: Findings indicated significant improvement in participants' knowledge of positive mental health support strategies (ES = 0.42, p < 0.001) and recognizing appropriate responses to suicidal statements (ES = 0.37, p < 0.001) at 10-weeks, with further improvement at 12 weeks follow-up (ES = 0.47 and 0.46, p < 0.001). Students reported higher generalized self-efficacy at the 12-week follow-up compared to baseline (ES = 0.19, p = 0.03) and an increased tendency to seek professional help for mental health issues (ES = 0.22, p = 0.02). <br><br>CONCLUSION: These findings provide preliminary evidence of the efficacy of the &quot;Talk-to-Me&quot; program in supporting ‎university students across Australia to increase their suicide-related knowledge and skills, ‎general self-efficacy, and overall mental fitness.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0363-0234",
doi="10.1111/sltb.12978",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12978"
}