Suicide rates among Indigenous people living in the Kimberley were among the highest in the world, according to a report published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday.
The researchers found there needs to be more innovative approaches to suicide prevention in the Kimberley region.
Author Dr Anita Campbell said although the current responses were well intended they were often fragmented, independent and funded by various government programs.
Dr Campbell said the programs were usually based in Broome and did not provide a significant service to remote communities or the East Kimberly.
“There was also lack of collaboration between these services with other community and health agencies which could be confusing for community members and practitioners working in the region,” she said.
For people who committed suicide, Dr Campbell said only 30 per cent had engaged with their mental health service which suggested that “traditionally defined mental illness” may not be a predictor of Indigenous suicide.
“Instead complex inter-generational trauma and impulsiveness were identified and correlated to increased rates,” she said.
“Suicide prevention services need to be culturally informed, long-term, and involve a collaborative approach to improve resilience and empowerment of young Indigenous people and their community.
“Key community members, youth and other groups such as schools, health clinics and cultural centres should be involved in the planning and development of these programmes.”
During the research period there were 125 suicides in the Kimberley between 2005 and 2014, of those 102 were by Indigenous people.
“As the Kimberley Indigenous population was 13,918 at the 2011 census, this equates to an age-adjusted suicide rate of 74 per 100 000 per year in this population,” the authors wrote.
The research found 71 per cent of the 102 people were male, 68 per cent were younger than 30 years old and 27 per cent were younger than 20 years old.
The researchers said the report highlighted the need for multidisciplinary, culturally appropriate, innovative and youth-focused approaches to suicide prevention activities.
In March, Kimberley MP Josie Farrer said in parliament the government claimed to have invested millions of dollars into suicide prevention but the frequency of self harm had increased.
Ms Farrer said Headspace type centres had greatly benefited the youth in Broome and were vital in other Kimberley towns such as Kununarra and Derby.
