The Indigenous Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse was established to enhance and improve access to the Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention evidence base. The Clearinghouse contributes to a series of actions supported by the Australian Government to improve mental health and suicide through the Fifth National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Plan.
The Clearinghouse is managed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) through funding from the Department of Health.
The AIHW works closely with Indigenous stakeholders and experts through the Indigenous Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse Steering Committee to develop content for the Clearinghouse. The Steering Committee is chaired by Professor Pat Dudgeon and has representation from researchers, service providers, advocates and government from the following organisations:
- Australian Government Department of Health
- Australian Health Services Research Institute
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Centre of Best Practice in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention
- Edith Cowan University
- Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Australia
- James Cook University
- National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA)
- National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
- School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia
- Suicide Prevention Australia
- Sydney Local Health District
- University of Canberra
- University of Melbourne
Information on the Clearinghouse will be regularly updated. Additional publications, data and research and evaluation material will be added as they become available.
The publications prepared by external authors represent the views of those authors.
Objectives
The objectives of the Clearinghouse are to:
- Improve the evidence base of what works and does not work relating to Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention, including identifying gaps in the evidence
- Improve access to key information by pulling together the emerging research, evaluation, program and policy initiatives and the evidence from these initiatives
- Encourage collaboration between researchers and reduce the chance of duplication in research activity.
Main functions
The main functions of the Clearinghouse are to:
- Identify and increase the accessibility of relevant research and evaluation efforts from government
- Prepare value-added resources that outline key issues relating to Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention and what government is doing to address these issues
- Advise on gaps in the available evidence, particularly research and evaluations
- Advise on priorities for future research and evaluation to fill identified gaps
- Bring together key experts to discuss these issues at public forums.
Resources available
The main resources available on the Clearinghouse website include:
- Publications: These papers summarise the key evidence on specific topics related to Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention. Publications have been reviewed by the Steering Committee. To access Clearinghouse publications, see Publications
- The Research and evaluation register: The Register is a collection of recent research and evaluation projects related to Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention. To access the register, see Research and evaluation register
- Key statistics and data: Recent and trend data related to Indigenous mental health and suicide prevention, including data visualisations and downloadable excel files. To view Clearinghouse data, see Access data or any of the Topics pages.
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Suggested citation
Website
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [insert year of latest update]. Indigenous Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed [insert date].
Webpage
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [insert year of latest update of webpage]. Indigenous Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Clearinghouse: [insert title of webpage, e.g. Mental health]. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed [insert date].