Suicide ideation - experiences of adversely racialised people: research

7.3 Appendix 3 – Participant information sheet individual interviews

Every Life Matters – National Suicide Prevention Action Plan

Action 7 – At Risk Groups: Participant Information

This information sheet will tell you more about this work and what you can expect by participating. The sheet also includes instructions for joining the online focus group and support information.

About the focus group

Thank you very much for agreeing to take part in the focus group. Your participation will help us develop a greater understanding of suicide risk and ultimately inform the design of actions to support groups at increased risk of suicide in Scotland.

This work is part of the Scottish Government's National Suicide Prevention Action Plan – Every Life Matters. The plan was published in 2018 and has an ambitious goal of reducing the rate of suicide by 20% by 2022. This focus group is part of Action 7 of the Every Life Matters plan. Action 7 aims to identify and facilitate preventative actions targeted at risk groups of suicide.

An initial phase of activities to support Action 7 was completed between December 2019 – October 2020. However, analysis of the engagement identified a number of gaps which found little involvement of people from minority ethnic communities, including migrant and refugee communities. Therefore, this second phase of activities has been developed to ensure the perspectives of minority ethnic communities are included in the analysis of suicide risk groups.

SAMH is responsible for the delivery of Action 7.

The Training Research Education and Engagement Management (TREEM) Consultancy has been commission by SAMH to carry out the second phase of the research with ethnic minority communities. Therefore, the Focus Group will be facilitated by TREEM Consultancy.

TREEM is a collective of community engaged scholars, and activists with a combined more than 30 years' experience of working with communities and individual people racialised in our policy and service provisions processes to support their perspective to become evidenced and incorporated into decision making.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with Ima (i.jackson@gcu.ac.uk) or Judy (judy.wasige@gcu.ac.uk / 07909878111).

What's involved?

• You will be asked to participate in an online group discussion with other people with experience of suicide. By experience of suicide we mean experience of thoughts of suicide; past suicide attempts; supporting someone with thoughts of suicide; and/or bereavement by suicide.
• Groups will be facilitated by someone who has had suicide prevention training.
• The following topics will be discussed:
• Your experience of suicide
• Your experience of interventions/services that helped when you experienced suicide
• Your experience of interventions/services that did not help when you experienced suicide
• Things that you believe would help people experiencing thoughts of suicide
• The discussion will last up to 2 hours and will be held through the online video platform Zoom.

What will happen to the information provided?

• All the information given to us will be strictly confidential. This means that answers given during the group discussion are private between individuals, us and the other people who attend the group discussion.
• Everyone who attends the group discussion will be asked to keep the conversations private.
• We will not ask anyone to disclose personal information that could be used to identify them.
• The only exception to this is if anyone divulges information during the discussion that indicates there is an immediate risk of serious harm. In that case we have a duty of care to pass this information on to appropriate authorities.
• All focus groups will be recorded; this will be transcribed to help with our analysis.
• Once the information has been written up, we will delete the recording.
• Only the project team will have access to the recording and the written transcript.
• We may use direct quotations from the group discussions in our final report, in which case these will be anonymised so that you cannot be identified.
• All information collected during this work will be stored and processed in strict accordance with data protection regulations. We will retain the recordings until the project is completed, but no longer than 12 months.

Focus group log in details

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic all focus groups will be held online on the video conferencing software Zoom. All meetings will be password protected.

• You will be emailed the log in details for the Zoom meeting. This will include a link to the Zoom meeting and a confirmation of the meeting time.
• To join the focus group: Click the link in the email at the time the meeting is due to start. This will automatically take you to the Zoom webpage (or app if you have this installed)
• The focus group facilitator will then accept you into the Zoom meeting
• You can join the Zoom meeting from a computer, tablet or smart phone

If you are having technical difficulties please call Judy Wasige on 07909878111

General tips

We recognise that talking about suicide and personal experiences can be challenging and potentially upsetting. Below are some tips to consider in advance and during the session.

• Prior to the session ensure you have a private space to take part in the focus group. This will ensure your confidentiality and that of the other participants.
• Prior to the session test your computer/tablet audio and video to ensure it is working ahead of the session.
• During the session please only share what you are comfortable with. There is no obligation to answer any questions you are not comfortable with.
• You can take a break from the focus group at any time. If you are leaving your screen for whatever reason please ensure you message the facilitator to let them know. At the start of the session the facilitator will explain how to do this through Zoom's message system.
• Consider setting some time aside after the session to relax or do something you enjoy. This could be a favourite TV programme, a chat with a friend or bubble bath.
• If you find the session upsetting or distressing please access the support services included in this information sheet below.

Support and Safeguarding

We hope taking part in the focus groups is a positive experience for you, but we are aware that it could be upsetting. If you need support please contact the national services below:

Breathing Space:

• Breathing Space is a free, confidential, phone service for anyone in Scotland over the age of 16 experiencing low mood, depression or anxiety.
• Opening hours:
• Weekdays: Monday to Thursday 6pm to 2am
• Weekends: Friday 6pm to Monday 6am
• Telephone: 0800 83 85 87
• breathingspace.scot

Samaritans:

• Samaritans volunteers listen in confidence to anyone in any type of emotional distress, without judging or telling people what to do.
• Open 24hrs a day everyday
• Telephone: 116 123
• Email jo@samaritans.org. (response within 24 hours)
• Samaritans Scotland

SAMH Information service:

• The SAMH Information Service provides information and support on mental health. Whether you're seeking support, are looking for more information for you or someone you love, or just want to have a chat about mental health, we're here.
• Open 9am-6pm, Monday to Friday (except Bank Holidays).
• Calls charged at local rates, charges from mobile telephones vary considerably.
• Telephone: 0344 800 0550
• SAMH Information Service

Shout

• Shout is volunteer-run and is the UK's first 24/7 crisis text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone in crisis anytime, anywhere.
• Open 24hrs a day
• Text: 85258
• Give us a Shout