Yarrabah Family Life Promotion Program—an effective suicide prevention program
In response to the high number of suicides in Yarrabah, Far North Queensland, the community identified
suicide as a ‘community issue’ and an urgent priority in the early 1990s. Initially the focus was on crisis
clinical support for individuals at risk of suicide, however over the next 2 years there was a gradual shift to
a broader approach that focused on community wellbeing (Hunter et al. 1999).
A component of the program evaluation involved comparing the number of suicides in Yarrabah with the
numbers in two comparison communities over the period 1990–96. Based on the results of this analysis,
the Yarrabah Family Life Promotion Program was found to be effective in preventing suicides
(Hunter et al. 1999).
Data obtained from the Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention for the period 1990–2008
enabled investigation of the longer-term impact of the program (AISRAP personal communication).
The data show that after the implementation of the program, there were no suicides in Yarrabah
between 1997 and 2000. Between 2001 and 2008 there were seven suicides, but fewer than before the
implementation of the program, when 17 suicides occurred between 1990 and 1996.
Prior to 1996, more suicides occurred in Yarrabah than in the two comparison communities, but between
1997 and 2008 there were fewer suicides in Yarrabah than in either comparison community.
While the small sample sizes mean that tests of statistical significance are inconclusive and firm
conclusions cannot be drawn regarding the effectiveness of the program in preventing suicides,
the trends in Yarrabah and the two comparison communities indicate that the Yarrabah Family Life
Promotion Program is promising.