IntroductionMany countries have developed guidelines advocating for responsible reporting of suicidal behaviour in traditional media. However, the increasing popularity of social media, particularly among young people, means that complementary guidelines designed to facilitate safe peer-peer communication are required. The aim of this study was to develop a set of evidence informed guidelines to assist young people to communicate about suicide via social media with the input of young people as active participants of the study.MethodsSystematic searches of the peer-reviewed and grey literature were conducted resulting in a 284-item questionnaire identifying strategies for safe communication about suicide online. The questionnaire was delivered over two rounds to two panels consisting of Australian youth advocates; and international suicide prevention researchers and media and communications specialists. Items were rerated if they were endorsed by 70–79.5% of both panels, or if 80% or more of one panel rated the item as essential or important. All items that were endorsed as essential or important by at least 80% of both panels were included in the final guidelines.ResultsA total of 173 items were included in the final guidelines. These items were organised into the following five sections: 1) Before you post anything online about suicide; 2) Sharing your own thoughts, feelings, or experience with suicidal behaviour online; 3) Communicating about someone you know who is affected by suicidal thoughts, feelings or behaviours; 4) Responding to someone who may be suicidal; 5) Memorial websites, pages and closed groups to honour the deceased.DiscussionThis is the first study to develop a set of evidence-informed guidelines to support young people to talk safely about suicide on social media. It is hoped that they will be a useful resource for young people and those who support them (e.g., parents, teachers, community workers and health professionals).

Background Young people commonly use social media platforms to communicate about suicide. Although research indicates that this communication may be helpful, the potential for harm still exists. To facilitate safe communication about suicide on social media, we developed the #chatsafe guidelines, which we sought to implement via a national social media campaign in Australia. Population-wide suicide prevention campaigns have been shown to improve knowledge, awareness, and attitudes toward suicide. However, suicide prevention campaigns will be ineffective if they do not reach and resonate with their target audience. Co-designing suicide prevention campaigns with young people can increase the engagement and usefulness of these youth interventions. Objective This study aimed to document key elements of the co-design process; to evaluate young people’s experiences of the co-design process; and to capture young people’s recommendations for the #chatsafe suicide prevention social media campaign. Methods In total, 11 co-design workshops were conducted, with a total of 134 young people aged between 17 and 25 years. The workshops employed commonly used co-design strategies; however, modifications were made to create a safe and comfortable environment, given the population and complexity and sensitivity of the subject matter. Young people’s experiences of the workshops were evaluated through a short survey at the end of each workshop. Recommendations for the campaign strategy were captured through a thematic analysis of the postworkshop discussions with facilitators. Results The majority of young people reported that the workshops were both safe (116/131, 88.5%) and enjoyable (126/131, 96.2%). They reported feeling better equipped to communicate safely about suicide on the web and feeling better able to identify and support others who may be at risk of suicide. Key recommendations for the campaign strategy were that young people wanted to see bite-sized sections of the guidelines come to life via shareable content such as short videos, animations, photographs, and images. They wanted to feel visible in campaign materials and wanted all materials to be fully inclusive and linked to resources and support services. Conclusions This is the first study internationally to co-design a suicide prevention social media campaign in partnership with young people. The study demonstrates that it is feasible to safely engage young people in co-designing a suicide prevention intervention and that this process produces recommendations, which can usefully inform suicide prevention campaigns aimed at youth. The fact that young people felt better able to safely communicate about suicide on the web as a result of participation in the study augurs well for youth engagement with the national campaign, which was rolled out across Australia. If effective, the campaign has the potential to better prepare many young people to communicate safely about suicide on the web.

Self-harm among young people remains largely stigmatised and misunderstood. Parents have been identified as key facilitators in the help-seeking process, yet they typically report feeling ill-equipped to support the young person in their care. The aim of this review was to examine the perspectives of both young people (aged 12–28) and parents and to develop the conceptual framework for a future qualitative study. A systematic search of MEDLINE and PsycINFO was performed to identify articles that focused on the experiences of family members and young people related to managing the discovery of self-harm. Fourteen articles were included for review. Four addressed the perspectives of young people and 10 reported on the impact of adolescent self-harm on parents. The impact of self-harm is substantial and there exists a discrepancy between the most common parental responses and the preferences of young people. In addition, parents are often reluctant to seek help for themselves due to feelings of shame and guilt. This highlights the need for accessible resources that seek to alleviate parents’ distress, influence the strategies implemented to manage the young person’s self-harm behaviour, reduce self-blame of family members, and increase the likelihood of parental help seeking.