Engaging with Primary Care to support Suicide Prevention Approaches: Insight Project

The above document is the study protocol for our research study looking at the perspectives of GP's regarding suicide prevention in the Yorkshire and Humber Region.This study is being commissioned by the Yorkshire and Humber Mental Health Community of Improvement (Y+H MH COI) via Kingston Upon Hull City Council.

Suicide is a major public health issue and accounts for 200,000 deaths worldwide. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health reports patients frequently visit their GP in the month leading up to a suicide attempt. This highlights the important role that GP's play in suicide prevention. The Y+H MH COI have commissioned a research project to explore the perspectives of GP's regarding their experiences of suicide prevention. More specifically, to explore what barriers and challenges they have faced, what approaches are effective, how cases of suspected suicide are reviewed within clinical practice and what support and or training GP's need to improve suicide prevention responses. The aim is to use a rigorous qualitative approach with recruitment from multiple primary care stakeholders, with the aim of producing a rich data set that is able to effectively inform policy and practice in suicide prevention. As part of this work, we have consulted with the SUN:RISE PPI group in Sheffield to receive feedback from service users with lived experience of suicidal behaviour. Whilst this work is focussed on the views of GP's, the results of this research will impact service users. We want to include them for all stages of this research project where possible with a particular focus on our topic guide as well as dissemination strategy. Recruitment will follow a snowball sampling method and convenience sampling method. An internal pilot focus group will be carried out within the Primary Care Research Group at the University of Sheffield. We will ask participants who have taken part in this focus group to share the study with GP colleagues to generate further recruitment. We also aim to recruit from existing research networks known to the department such as the Deep End Research Alliance and other academic departments across the Yorkshire and Humber region. Other sources of recruitment will include contacting Integrated Care Boards and advertising the study with the local medical council and at PLI events. The characteristics of the study sample will be reviewed during the data collection process and if necessary, a purposive sampling framework will be implemented at this point to achieve a representative sample. To be included in the study, you must be a qualified GP or a GP trainee working in the Yorkshire and Humber region. Interviews/focus groups will take place either virtually or face to face and last between 45 minutes and 1 hour. The interviews will be converted to audio only mp3 and transcribed by a University of Sheffield approved transcription service. The interview transcripts will then undergo qualitative analysis to identify emergent themes. This will follow a framework analysis which has 7 steps. After data analysis is complete, the results will be written up for publication in a scientific journal. The results of the work will be disseminated at local PPIE events as well as with participants who wanted to be kept in touch with the research project.

University of Sheffield ethics approval was granted for this study on 19/09/23 reference 056568