# Social prescribing for suicide prevention: a proposed model for Australia

## TL;DR

The paper proposes a social prescribing model in Australia to help prevent suicide by addressing non-medical needs through community-based approaches.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is a tailored social prescribing model for suicide prevention in the Australian context.

## Key findings

- Social prescribing is effective in addressing non-clinical needs linked to suicidality.
- A modified social prescribing model could be integrated into existing services in Australia.
- System-wide support is needed to scale up suicide prevention through social prescribing.

## Abstract

Suicidality is a devastating and burdensome experience that can be a result of complex psychological, biological and social factors. Social prescribing could be well suited to address the diverse non-clinical needs of people experiencing suicidality. International and Australian evidence indicates social prescribing provides an effective and acceptable approach. To address suicide risk and rates in the Australian community, community-based approaches that are visible, readily accessible and that address complex social, practical or non-medical needs are needed. We propose a social prescribing model for suicide prevention that could be implemented in Australia either as a specific purpose service or within existing social prescribing trials, with relevant modifications tailored to suicide prevention. Drawing upon evidence from the literature and a panel of social prescribing experts, we make practical recommendations for implementing a social prescribing model for suicide prevention in Australia, and discuss some of the system-wide requirements to support access and scaling up of these models.