Thursday 14 March 2013

Improving care and intervention to prevent Māori suicide

A third and final free online webinar about Maori suicide prevention will be broadcast by the Mental Health Foundation on Tuesday 19 March.

Preventing MAori Suicide: Improving care and intervention will be presented by Dr Nicole Coupe and Dr Lynne Russell.

Dr Nicole Coupe, Director of Kereru Research Evaluation and Development, will draw on her own research on the value of cultural identity as a protective factor for MAori. She will discuss how to improve care for MAori people who have attempted suicide, integrating cultural models into clinical practice.

Dr Lynne Russell, Senior Research Fellow at the Health Services Research Centre, Victoria University of Wellington will explore the mental health services that are currently available to Maori - analysing what is currently working, and what barriers to access exist. She will also explain why integrating Maori understanding into mental health care is the best way to improve care and intervention and prevent Maori suicide.

MHF chief executive Judi Clements hopes that this webinar will contribute to understanding of what can make a difference from a Maori perspective.

"It is important to use knowledge and models from a MAori perspective that are known to work, as well as drawing on more conventional medical approaches to mental health - the best of both worlds," says Ms Clements.

The series of three webinars were organised by the MHF in collaboration with the Office of the Pro Vice Chancellor Maori, Victoria University of Wellington to address the issue of MAori suicide from an indigenous perspective.

The webinar will run from 12:30 - 1:30pm. It is free to attend, and interested participants can register online at http://www.spinz.org.nz/page/323-webinars

Time will be allowed for audience questions. Questions can be emailed to sophia@mentalhealth.org.nz or tweeted to @suicidenz, using the hashtag #mspwebinar before, during, or after the webinar.

The first two webinars about Maori Suicide Prevention - What do we need to do?, and Involving whAnau and community - were very well received. Participants described the webinars as "inspirational" "informative," and "moving."

Many people who watched the webinars are already doing important work in preventing suicide, and want guidance and advice so they can better assist Maori. Others want information that can empower them to help and protect their friends, family, whanau and communities.

Recorded versions of each of the previous webinars in the series are available through the SPINZ website.

Webinars are online seminars which allow presenters to interact with an audience live over the internet. Find out more and register for the webinars online at http://www.spinz.org.nz/page/323-webinars

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