A/Prof Matthew Spittal awarded Best Research Paper by the Black Dog Institute

Associate Professor Matthew Spittal has been awarded best Research Paper- Senior Research by the Centre of Research Excellence in Suicide Prevention (CRESP) of the Black Dog Institute.

This award, established on World Suicide Prevention Day in 2013, supports outstanding suicide prevention research and aims to encourage new and established research in the field.

A/Prof Spittal’s paper, ‘Community mental health care after self-harm: A retrospective cohort study’ was published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry.  The paper examined the use of community mental health services within 30 days of discharge for people admitted to hospital across NSW for self-harm. Only 40% of patients get follow-up care, with this number being lower among people who are not yet receiving community mental health.

The findings of this study have the potential to change clinical practice, and highlight potential opportunities to improve patient care at a system-level. They also demonstrate that it is possible to reduce the risk of suicide and self-harm by improving the management of self-harm in the hospital and the community setting.

Find out more about the award from the Black Dog Institute website. The journal article is available online .