Hayley Purdon

University of New England

Thesis Title

Lived experience engagement in suicide prevention: The Australian environment

Supervisor

Dr Sarah Wayland and Professor Myf Maple

Research Questions

How do people with lived experience participate in suicide prevention in Australia?

Whose research influences you?

Sarah and Myf have done some fantastic qualitative work on this topic, hence their supervision. However it is not research that has been a primary influence, but the experiences of people with lived-experience. Their horror and success stories have led me down this path.

Are you a lived-experience researcher?

I live with occasional thoughts of suicide, have survived a suicide attempt and have cared for someone through a period of suicidality.

If so, how does lived or consumer experience shape your research?

I have seen many aspects of how people with lived experience have been engaged in suicide prevention work. My experience as a lived experience advocate has driven me to systematically map this engagement so that we can work to do better into the future. The sector is at a tipping point with engagement increasingly rapidly over the next 10 years but we don’t know enough yet to do it well. This need has shaped my research.