Tanja Hirvonen, Mental Health Academic for Centre for Remote Health attended the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) 2018 Asia Pacific Regional Conference held in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand in early May.

Tanja is pictured with Dr Kahu McClintock from Aotearoa (New Zealand) who led the Evaluation of the Waka Hourua Māori Community Suicide Prevention Initiatives. Kahu also has the honour to represent Aotearoa on the Expert Advisory Panel for the Centre for Best Practice for Suicide Prevention (CBPSPA) in Australia.

Tanja participated in a plenary around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention which covered the development of the Centre for Best Practice for Suicide Prevention in Australia. Tanja also discussed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Evaluation (ATSISPEP) report and its recommendations and findings as well as Flinders University initiatives around the importance of professional self-care particularly for our student doctors.

The overall conference theme, ‘Turning the tide together – Tai Pari, Tai timu ngatahi ai’ focused on Suicide Prevention around the globe including programs, behaviours, community-based initiatives, postvention and risk with many poster presentations and special lectures.