Optimising suicide prevention programs and their implementation in Europe
OSPI-Europe
On 27th and 28th October, 2008, the project OSPI-Europe was officially started with a kick-off meeting in Leipzig, Germany. “Within the project, we will develop an evidence-based suicide prevention concept that implies the experiences that we made in the European Alliance Against Depression as well as up-to-date research findings on suicide prevention.” says Prof. Ulrich Hegerl, coordinator of the OSPI project and director of the Clinic of Psychiatry of the Leipzig University.
The project is funded by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Program with a total budget of 2.9 million €. During the four-year term (1.10.2008-30.09.2012), the project aims at developing an evidence-based suicide prevention concept, concrete materials and instruments for running and evaluating these interventions and recommendations for the proper implementation of the intervention. The intervention concept will be implemented and evaluated in four pilot regions in Ireland, Portugal, Hungary and Germany.
The groundwork for OSPI-Europe has been laid through implementation of a multifaceted intervention programme for suicide prevention in Nuremberg, Germany (Nuremberg Alliance Against Depression, www.buendnis-depression.de) and the later expansion of the Nuremberg-concept to other EU countries, which formed the European Alliance Against Depression (EAAD, www.eaad.net). The Nuremberg intervention was a four level approach including Education of GPs using training sessions and videos (Level 1), Public relations activities (Level 2), Training sessions for multipliers such as priests, social workers, geriatric care givers, teachers and the media (level 3), and Offers for high risk groups (persons after suicide attempt) and support of self-help activities and relatives (Level 4).
The OSPI consortium consists of 14 European partners: Germany (University of Leipzig, Department of Psychiatry (Coordinator); Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Department of Clinical Psychology, Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy; GABO:mi Gesellschaft für Ablauforganisation :milliarium mbH & Co. KG), Estonia (Estonian-Swedish Mental Health and Suicidology Institute), United Kingdom (London School of Economics; University of Stirling), Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, LUCAS), The Netherlands (Trimbos-instituut / Netherlands Institute of Mental Health and Addiction), Ireland (National Suicide Research Foundation), Hungary (Semmelweis University Budapest, Institute of Behavioural Sciences), Slovenia (IVZ Institute of Public Health; University of Primorska, PINT), and Portugal (Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa).
For further information, please visit our website: http://www.ospi-europe.com/.