The Bottom Line Conference

Vancouver 12 March 2019

Turning Things Upside Down to Save Lives in Australia

Jorgen GullestrupCEO MATES in Construction Qld/NT

TURNING THINGS UPSIDE DOWN FOR MENTAL HEALTH

1. A little about me

2. Why and how we developed a program

3. What the program involves

4. Some of the evidence behind the program

AISRAP STUDY - QUEENSLAND CONSTRUCTION SUICIDE

1. Construction suicide significantly higher than Australian men (1:1.46)

2. 15-24 Year old more than twice other young men (1:2.54)

3. 41% more likely to have consumed alcohol (59.4%)4. 80% more likely to have a relationship problem (53.1%)5. 175% young workers with relationship problems (75%)6. 55% less likely to have sought professional MH help

(7.8%)Heller, Hawgood & De Leo (2007); Correlates Of Suicide In Building Industry Workers, Archives Of Suicide Research, 11:1, 105-117

PSYCHOLOGICAL AUTOPSIES

Relationship problems

Pending legal matters

Financial problems

Conflict

Recent/pending unemployment

Work problems

Grief

Child custody disputes

Other life events

FOCUS GROUPS

Long working hours

A culture of heavy alcohol use

Bullying behaviors

A culture of not allowing discussion of

problems with mates

A male dominated industry

Financial management issues

Lack of job security

1. We spoke to workers – Lack of job security

2. We spoke to business – Competitive

Environment

3. We spoke to unions and employer associations

– Conflictual Relationships

4. We spoke to mental health and suicide

prevention experts – Men not seeking help

1. A peer support based program

2. Industry Based but workplace focused

3. Independent of both Unions and Employers but

respecting both

4. Focused on Help Offering – Not Help Seeking

HOW DOES IT WORK?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Support on Site

• Postvention

• Critical Incidence Support

Supporting Individuals

Industry Leadership

https://www.constructionblueprint.com.au/

Maheen H & Milner, A (2017) Suicide in the construction Industry: Report by Deakin University for MATES in Construction. Volume 2, 15 July 2017

1. Significant improvement in Suicide Literacy, Stigma Reduction

and help offering intention (Gullestrup, Lequertier, Martin 2011

and King et al 2018)

2. Particular impact on Young Workers (King et al 2019)

3. A ROI of $4.60 per $1 Invested (Doran, Ling, Gullestrup &

Milner 2015)

4. Program Feasible for Coal Mining Industry (Tynan et al 2018)

5. Significant improvement on Suicide Literacy, Stigma

Reduction, Help Seeking in Mining Industry - Yet to be

published

Published EvidenceHeller, T. S., Hawgood, J. L., & De Leo, D. (2007). Correlates of Suicide in Building Industry Workers. Archives of Suicide Research, 11(1), 105-117.

Gullestrup, J., Lequertier, B., & Martin, G. (2011). MATES in Construction: Impact of a Multimodal Community-Based Program for Suicide Prevention in the Construction Industry. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8, 4180-4196.

Doran, C., Ling, R., Gullestrup, J., Swannell, S., & Milner, A. (2016). The economic cost of suicide in the New South Wales Construction Industry and the potential impact o a suicide prevention strategy in reducing this cost. Crisis 2016 Mar 3 (2): 121-9.

Martin G, Swannell S, Milne A & Gullestrup J (2016) Mates in Construction Suicide Prevention Program: A Five Year Review Journal of Community Medicine and Health Education 2016 Vol 6 issue 4 Pg 1000465

Tynan R, James C, Considine R, Skehan J, Gullestrup J, Lewin T, Wiggers J & Kelly B 2018 Feasibility and acceptability of strategies to address mental health and mental ill-health in the Australian coal mining industry International Journal of Mental Health Systems 2018 Vol 12 Issue 66

King T, Gullestrup J, Batterham P, Kelly B, Lockwood C, Lindgard H, Harvey S, LaMontagne A & Milner A 2018 Shifting Beliefs about Suicide: Pre-Post Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Program for Workers in the Construction Industry International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2018 Vol 15 Pg 2016

King T, Batterham P, Lindgard H, Gullestrup J, Lockwood C, Harvey S, Kelly B, LaMontagne A & Milner A 2019 Are Young Men Getting the Message? Age Differences in Suicide Prevention Literacy among Male Construction Workers International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol 16 Pg 475

Maheen H & Milner, A (2017) Suicide in the construction Industry: Report by Deakin University for MATES in Construction. Volume 2, 15 July 2017

Footprints Market Research. (2012). MATES in Construction Program Evaluation: Report of Findings. Milton, Qld: Footprints Market Research.

Banks, C. (2013). MATES in Construction: ASIST Workers Survey Report. Brisbane: Cate Banks Consulting.

Martin G & Gullestrup J 2015 Help-Seeking and Men: An Innovative Suicide Prevention Program from the Construction Industry in “Suicide in Men; How Men Differ from Women in Expressing Their Distress. Eds Lester D, Gunn J & Quinnett P Charles Thomas

All documents available at: http://matesinconstruction.org.au/commitment-to-evidence-base-practice/evidence/