| Associate Professor Jane Pirkis |
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| Biography |
Jane Pirkis (BA (Hons), MPsych, MAppEpid, PhD) currently holds a National Health and Medical Research Council Career Development Award. Through this award, she is undertaking a program of work examining the epidemiology of suicidal behaviour, with a view to informing prevention efforts. She has a particular interest in the impact of media reporting of suicide on actual suicidal behaviour, and is currently leading several projects in this area.
She has undertaken a number of evaluations of large-scale suicide prevention and mental health programs. She is currently leading the evaluations of two initiatives designed to improve access to primary mental health care for people with common conditions like depression and anxiety – the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program and the Better Access initiative. She is also responsible for an evaluation of the Queensland Government Suicide Prevention Strategy, and is involved in a national project supporting routine outcome measurement in mental health services (the Australian Mental Health Outcomes and Classification Network). In the past she has conducted reviews of beyondblue, the First National Mental Health Plan and the National Youth Suicide Prevention Strategy. She has also managed projects concerning the delivery of mental health services to particular groups, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities, suicidal individuals and people with a dual diagnosis.
For more information including Associate Professor Pirkis’ qualifications, publications, research grants and classifications, visit Find an Expert.