Co-creation of Tools for Men With Suicidal Thoughts and/or Behavior

Approximately three out of four people who die by suicide are men. Suicide is a complex phenomenon, which cannot be explained by a single factor, but rather is a result of a variety of neuro-biological, psychological and social risk factors.

Considering the difference in suicide risk between men and women, researchers have tried to identify risk factors specific to men, which might contribute to the increased suicide risk. Differences in help-seeking behavior and received help have repeatedly been put forward as being one of these factors as men are less likely to seek help and have a higher drop-out rate once having started interventions.

A currently ongoing study (BUN: B6702024000090) focuses on mapping out these needs and barriers among adult men with suicidal thoughts and their healthcare providers.

The next step is to develop tools that meet the indicated needs and facilitate help-seeking and (continuous) help-receiving among men with suicidal thoughts and behavior. To develop these tools a co-creation process will be used, where men with a history of suicidal thoughts will be involved. Using the input of future users of tools is crucial. The investigators want to ensure that the developed tools are user-friendly for future users so that the barriers of using them remain as low as possible. The investigators want to do this by adapting the used language and layout to the preferences of our future users. In addition, the investigators want to ensure that the content in the tools is relevant and understandable for everyone. The investigators also aim to develop tools that appeal to a diverse group of users.

It is therefore crucial that the people who will use the tools are involved in their creation and design to suit their needs and use valuable experiential knowledge (Boyle, 2007; Hanlon et al., 2022; Watling et al., 2020). This is also called participatory co-creation. It means that men with a history of suicidal thoughts are at the center of the decision about how the tools should look. Additionally, experts on healthcare and masculinity, as well as international research literature will be consulted.

The primary objective of this project is to co-create suicide prevention tools for men with suicidal thoughts ensuring these tools are supported by their future users.

This will be done by maximum 10 live or online co-creation meetings with men (18 years or older) who experienced suicidal thoughts and/or behaviors in the past 3 years. The co-creation meetings will take place in groups with a maximum of 10 participants. Participants can participate in a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 co-creation meetings. The meetings will last a maximum of 2 hours. The co-creation meetings will be supervised and carried out by the Flemish Center of Expertise in Suicide prevention researchers.

If participants feel that participating in group is too much of a barrier, the investigators offer the possibility to have a one-on-one interview with the same content/questions. This exception allows us to gain information from all interested participants without excluding individuals due to their unwillingness or inability to participate in group. At the meeting, two researchers will be present and possibly people specialized in developing tools. The tools are developed in consultation with the developer, Flemish Center of Expertise in Suicide Prevention researchers, experts in the field and men with a history of suicidal thoughts.

After expressing interest to participate, participants will be contacted by telephone by one of the researchers to provide more information about the co-creation meetings and to answer any questions. During this phone call, a researcher (clinical psychologist) will evaluate the exclusion criteria. If the participant is interested in participating in the co-creation meetings and is eligible for participation, they will be asked to provide informed consent online. After providing consent, they will be asked to complete a short online background questionnaire on demographic characteristics because the researchers would like to ensure diversity and cultural and social aspects are considered in the tool development. The participants in the co-creation meetings must therefore be a representative group of the intended population. The participant will then receive the invitation to the meetings by email or text message.