Barnet's Suicide Prevention Campaign ‘might have helped save around 10 lives’, finds Middlesex University report

MDX academics who evaluated Barnet Council’s 2021 Suicide Prevention Campaign found that it may have helped save several lives

Middlesex University has confirmed that Barnet Council’s Suicide Prevention Campaign, delivered in 2021, may have contributed to reducing suicide rates in the Borough.

The evaluation showed that Barnet saw a significant drop in suicide rates for the three months that the campaign was live (Oct – Dec 2021) and for a further six months following the campaign's conclusion.​

Aimed at working-aged men, the campaign aimed to reduce deaths by suicide and increase uptake of mental health support and services in Barnet by:

1. Promotion of the "Stay Alive" app: This app provides vital resources and tools for those in crisis.
2. Digital and outdoor media campaign: Designed to raise awareness and encourage the use of the Stay Alive app.
3. Community outreach: Targeted male-dominated construction industry to promote mental health support and Zero Suicide Alliance training.
4. Promotion of "Andy’s Man Club": Barnet's first peer-to-peer support group offering a safe space for men to discuss mental health issues.

The findings of the report highlight that this work may have contributed to saving up to 10 lives between October 2021 and June 2022.

Key achievements of the campaign include:

• Increase in app engagement: There was a substantial rise in clicks to local support services via the Stay Alive app from October 2021 to June 2022 ​(Barnet Suicide Prevention Phase 1 evaluation report)​
• Positive user feedback: Users reported high satisfaction with the Stay Alive app and the support provided by Andy’s Man Club
• Greater awareness: The campaign contributed to the destigmatisation of mental health issues and encouraged men that it is ok to seek help and to support one another.

Cllr Alison Moore, Chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board, Barnet Council, said:

“I feel very proud to of everyone in Barnet who has helped work towards these very positive outcomes from Barnet’s Suicide Prevention Campaign. Every life is important and we must all do what we can to help reduce the stigma and promote the benefits of seeking help for our mental health when it is needed. It is also very positive to know that the work of our communication campaigns do have real term positive outcomes on the mental health of our communities.

“We remain committed to our work in suicide prevention and are using the findings to inform future initiatives to prevent suicides and support mental health in Barnet.”

“Our findings support those in the Barnet Council Phase 1 Evaluation Report, and demonstrate that suicide prevention campaigns do work – and even a low budget campaign can have a huge impact on communities. I’m honoured to have worked on this project and proud that our research can be used to inform future suicide prevention campaigns, and hopefully help to save even more lives.”
Dr Lisa Marzano Professor of Psychology, Middlesex University

Since the launch of the Winter 2021 Suicide Prevention Campaign, Barnet Council in partnership with Grassroots and Andy’s Man Club, have continued to develop their suicide prevention work, and are now entering a third phase of the communications campaign which will run in Summer 2024.

Visit the Barnet website for mental health services and wellbeing support.

Download the Stay Alive app or find out more about Andy’s Man Club.

Read the Barnet Suicide Prevention Phase 1 Evaluation report, which is the Barnet Council Public Health report which provided the basis for the follow-up report by Middlesex University.

Discover more about studying Psychology at Middlesex.